This Cheap Prenatal Vitamin May Boost A Child's Memory Years Later

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A vitamin that most people associate with bone health and sunshine may be doing something far more interesting inside the developing brain. Scientists say that children whose mothers took high doses of vitamin D during pregnancy scored better on memory tests at age 10 than children whose mothers took the standard recommended dose. The study adds to growing evidence of how conditions in the womb can shape the way a child thinks, learns, and remembers for years to come.

Vitamin D deficiency is already widespread among pregnant women around the world. Scientists have long suspected the vitamin plays a role in how the brain develops before birth, with earlier lab and animal studies pointing to its involvement in processes that help the brain form and function. Solid evidence from well-designed human trials has been scarce, until now.