Choline is as an essential nutrient for humans. Because the fetus and neonate have high demands for choline, its dietary intake during pregnancy and nursing is particularly important for normal development of the offspring. Previous studies in rodents have shown that high choline intake during gestation or the perinatal period improves cognitive function in adulthood, prevents memory decline of old age, and protects the brain from damage and cognitive and neurological deterioration associated with epilepsy. This presentation will focus on our recent studies showing that high choline intake in early life alleviates deficits in social interaction and improves anxiety-like behaviors in a mouse model of autism and is effective in reducing brain amyloidosis in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. The behavioral changes evoked by choline nutrition are accompanied by altered patterns of expression of multiple cortical and hippocampal genes including those encoding key proteins that contribute to the biochemical mechanisms of learning and memory. One of the biochemical fates of choline is to serve as a donor of methyl groups and the effects of choline correlate with cerebral cortical changes in DNA and histone methylation, thus suggesting an epigenomic mechanism of action of perinatal choline.
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