Nutritional influences on human neurocognitive functioning

The notion that good nutrition is essential for adequate growth and sound physical wellbeing is very well established. Further, in recent years, there has been an overwhelming increase in research dedicated to better understanding how nutritional factors influence cognition and behavior (Riby et al., 2012). An aim of this Research Topic was to bring together Review, Opinion and Original Research articles reflecting the current science in this discipline. These include the effects of a range of foods and nutritional substrates on acute and chronic human neurocognitive functioning. The 13 accepted papers which form this Research Topic cover a diverse range of topics relating nutritional factors to neurocognitive functioning and performance. The articles demonstrate that neurocognitive performance is influenced by nutritional factors ranging from the dietary level (e.g., whole diet and meal composition) through to effects of macronutrients (such as glucose and omega-3 fatty acids) and micronutrients (vitamins, iron) on neurocognitive performance.