The Cornell Choline Cognition Research Group investigates the effects of maternal choline intake during pregnancy on offspring cognitive and neurobehavioral development.  Choline is an essential nutrient found in many foods, but most commonly in egg yolks, lean red meat, fish, poultry, milk, legumes, nuts and cruciferous vegetables; it is also available as a nutritional supplement. Choline has many key roles in health and disease prevention, but adequate maternal choline intake is especially important for optimal prenatal brain development and lifelong offspring cognitive functioning.  

Our research team uses experimental methods to identify the optimal amount of choline to be consumed during pregnancy, with respect to child cognitive outcomes.  We examine the causal effects of maternal choline supplementation on offspring memory, attention, information processing speed, and executive functioning from early infancy into childhood.  Through our studies, we seek to advance scientific knowledge and understanding of how variations in maternal choline intake affect offspring neurobehavioral development from infancy into old age. In addition, we seek to provide evidence that will inform dietary intake guidelines for pregnant women.

Contact us at cholcog@cornell.edu

Team

Investigators

Barbara Strupp, Ph.D.  
Professor Emeritus, Division of Nutritional Sciences 
Research Interests: nutrition and behavior; behavioral and cognitive neuroscience; choline supplementation; lead exposure and chelation therapy; manganese neurotoxicity.

Richard Canfield, Ph.D. 
Senior Research Associate, Division of Nutritional Sciences 
Research Interests: infant and child development; prenatal and early postnatal factors affecting infant and child development, including nutrient exposures, toxins, and nutrient-toxin interactions.

Contact us at cholcog@cornell.edu

Research Group Members 

Current Members

Graduate Student Researchers
Kara Beckman, B.A., doctoral candidate

Undergraduate Research Assistants
Claudia Hatef
Charlotte Jones
Sahib Kaila
Noah Lashin
Elisabeth Lee
Rachel Moss
Suong Nguyen
David Rusakow
Max Trauring

Former Group Members and continuing collaborators

Lab Manager
Elizabeth Feathers, B.S.

Postdoctoral Fellow
Julie Nevins, Ph.D.

Graduate Student Researchers
Charlotte Bahnfleth, Ph.D. 
Bailey Drewes, M.S. 
Jesse Kay (Brinkman), MS, RDN, LDN, CD

Undergraduate Research Assistants
Amani Allen
Nicole Cruz 
Zoee D'Costa 
Avery Faucette 
Carrie Freeman 
Kristin Hardy 
Brianna Lauren 
Jason Lee 
Basia Mierzwinski 
Faith Park 
Alyssa Sheedy 
Hansen Tai 
Diane Tarira 
Vivian Zhang 
Heritage Adetola
Areion Allmond
Adaora Okeke

Publications

Journal Articles

Powers BE, Velazquez R, Strawderman MS, Ginsberg SD, Mufson EJ, Strupp BJ. Maternal Choline Supplementation as a Potential Therapy for Down Syndrome: Assessment of Effects Throughout the Lifespan. Front Aging Neurosci. 2021 Oct 6;13:723046. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.723046. PMID: 34690739; PMCID: PMC8527982.

Bahnfleth CL, Strupp BJ, Caudill MA, Canfield RL. Prenatal choline supplementation improves child sustained attention: A 7-year follow- up of a randomized controlled feeding trial. FASEB J. 2022;36:e22054. doi:10.1096/fj.20210 1217R

Alldred, M. J., Chao, H. M., Lee, S. H., Beilin, J., Powers, B. E., Petkova, E., Strupp, B. J., & Ginsberg, S. D. (2019). Long-term effects of maternal choline supplementation on CA1 pyramidal neuron gene expression in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease. FASEB journal, 33(9), 9871–9884.

Kelley, C. M., Ginsberg, S. D., Alldred, M. J., Strupp, B. J., & Mufson, E. J. (2019). Maternal Choline Supplementation Alters Basal Forebrain Cholinergic Neuron Gene Expression in the Ts65Dn Mouse Model of Down Syndrome. Developmental neurobiology, 79(7), 664–683.

Alldred, M. J., Chao, H. M., Lee, S. H., Beilin, J., Powers, B. E., Petkova, E., Strupp, B. J., & Ginsberg, S. D. (2018). CA1 pyramidal neuron gene expression mosaics in the Ts65Dn murine model of Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease following maternal choline supplementation. Hippocampus, 28(4), 251–268.

Caudill, M. A., Strupp, B. J., Muscalu, L., Nevins, J. E. H., & Canfield, R. L. (2018). Maternal choline supplementation during the third trimester of pregnancy improves infant information processing speed: a randomized, double-blind, controlled feeding study. FASEB journal: official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, 32(4), 2172.

Powers, B. E., Kelley, C. M., Velazquez, R., Ash, J. A., Strawderman, M. S., Alldred, M. J., Ginsberg, S. D., Mufson, E. J., & Strupp, B. J. (2017). Maternal choline supplementation in a mouse model of Down syndrome: Effects on attention and nucleus basalis/substantia innominata neuron morphology in adult offspring. Neuroscience, 340, 501–514.

Strupp, B. J., Powers, B. E., Velazquez, R., Ash, J. A., Kelley, C. M., Alldred, M. J., Strawderman, M., Caudill, M. A., Mufson, E. J., & Ginsberg, S. D. (2016). Maternal Choline Supplementation: A Potential Prenatal Treatment for Down Syndrome and Alzheimer's Disease. Current Alzheimer research, 13(1), 97–106.

Kelley, C. M., Ash, J. A., Powers, B. E., Velazquez, R., Alldred, M. J., Ikonomovic, M. D., Ginsberg, S. D., Strupp, B. J., & Mufson, E. J. (2016). Effects of Maternal Choline Supplementation on the Septohippocampal Cholinergic System in the Ts65Dn Mouse Model of Down Syndrome. Current Alzheimer research, 13(1), 84–96.

Powers, B. E., Velazquez, R., Kelley, C. M., Ash, J. A., Strawderman, M. S., Alldred, M. J., Ginsberg, S. D., Mufson, E. J., & Strupp, B. J. (2016). Attentional function and basal forebrain cholinergic neuron morphology during aging in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome. Brain structure & function, 221(9), 4337–4352.

Ash, J. A., Velazquez, R., Kelley, C. M., Powers, B. E., Ginsberg, S. D., Mufson, E. J., & Strupp, B. J. (2014). Maternal choline supplementation improves spatial mapping and increases basal forebrain cholinergic neuron number and size in aged Ts65Dn mice. Neurobiology of disease, 70, 32–42.

Yan, J., Ginsberg, S. D., Powers, B., Alldred, M. J., Saltzman, A., Strupp, B. J., & Caudill, M. A. (2014). Maternal choline supplementation programs greater activity of the phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT) pathway in adult Ts65Dn trisomic mice. FASEB journal, 28(10), 4312–4323.

Kelley, C. M., Powers, B. E., Velazquez, R., Ash, J. A., Ginsberg, S. D., Strupp, B. J., & Mufson, E. J. (2014). Maternal choline supplementation differentially alters the basal forebrain cholinergic system of young-adult Ts65Dn and disomic mice. The Journal of comparative neurology, 522(6), 1390–1410.

Kelley, C. M., Powers, B. E., Velazquez, R., Ash, J. A., Ginsberg, S. D., Strupp, B. J., & Mufson, E. J. (2014). Sex differences in the cholinergic basal forebrain in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease. Brain pathology (Zurich, Switzerland), 24(1), 33–44.

Velazquez, R., Ash, J. A., Powers, B. E., Kelley, C. M., Strawderman, M., Luscher, Z. I., Ginsberg, S. D., Mufson, E. J., & Strupp, B. J. (2013). Maternal choline supplementation improves spatial learning and adult hippocampal neurogenesis in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome. Neurobiology of disease, 58, 92–101.

Field, M. S., Shields, K. S., Abarinov, E. V., Malysheva, O. V., Allen, R. H., Stabler, S. P., Ash, J. A., Strupp, B. J., Stover, P. J., & Caudill, M. A. (2013). Reduced MTHFD1 activity in male mice perturbs folate- and choline-dependent one-carbon metabolism as well as transsulfuration. The Journal of nutrition, 143(1), 41–45.

Moon, J., Chen, M., Gandhy, S. U., Strawderman, M., Levitsky, D. A., Maclean, K. N., & Strupp, B. J. (2010). Perinatal choline supplementation improves cognitive functioning and emotion regulation in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome. Behavioral neuroscience, 124(3), 346–361.

Conference Abstracts

Prenatal Choline Supplementation Improves Child Color-location Memory Task Performance at 7 Y of Age (FS05-01-19) 
Charlotte L. Bahnfleth, Richard L. Canfield, Julie E.H. Nevins, Marie A. Caudill, Barbara J. Strupp 
Maternal, Perinatal and Pediatric Nutrition, Current Developments in Nutrition, Volume 3, Issue Supplement 1, June 2019, nzz048.FS05-01-19, https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzz048.FS05-01-19.

Maternal choline supplementation: A therapy for Down Syndrome with population-wide cognitive benefits (DNTS 16)
Barbara J. Strupp
43rd Annual Meeting of the Developmental Neurotoxicology Society: Held in Conjunction with the 59th Annual Meeting of the Teratology Society and 32nd Annual Education Meeting for the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists, Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina, San Diego, CA, June 23–26, 2019, Neurotoxicology and Teratology, Volume 73, 2019, Pages 76-94, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ntt.2019.04.001. (NOTE: This article can be found on page 80, DNTS 16; or read the excerpt linked in the title above.)

Maternal Choline Supplementation During Pregnancy Improves Executive Functioning in Children at Age 7 y (E10-06) 
Julie E.H. Nevins, Kara Beckman, Charlotte L. Bahnfleth, Bailey M. Drewes, Marie A. Caudill, Barbara J. Strupp, and Richard L. Canfield 
Neurobiology, Current Developments in Nutrition, Volume 2, Issue 11, November 2018, nzy043, https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzy043/5046114. (NOTE: This article can be found on page 4 of the PDF which can be accessed from the top of the page under the published date; or read the excerpt linked in the title above.)

Enduring Benefits of Prenatal Choline Supplementation in 7-y-Olds: Enhanced Attention Task Performance (OR11-01)
Charlotte L. Bahnfleth, Bailey Drewes, Julie E.H. Nevins, Marie A. Caudill, Richard L. Canfield, and Barbara J. Strupp 
Neurobiology, Current Developments in Nutrition, Volume 2, Issue 11, November 2018, nzy043, https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzy043. (NOTE: This article can be found on page 4 of the PDF which can be accessed from the top of the page under the published date; or read the excerpt linked in the title above.)

Maternal choline supplementation during the third trimester of pregnancy improves infant information processing speed: a randomized, double-blind, controlled feeding study (N-O-026) 
Richard L. Canfield, Marie A. Caudill, Barbara J. Strupp, Laura Muscalu, Julie E.H. Nevins  
51st ESPGHAN Annual Meeting, Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Volume 66, Issue Supplement 1, April 2018. (NOTE: This article can be found on page 901 of the document or use Ctrl F to search Strupp or Canfield; or read the excerpt linked in the title above.)

Theses

Charlotte Bahnfleth. (2019). The effect of maternal choline intake on child attention and memory: A seven-year follow-up [Masters]. Cornell University." https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/67243

Bailey Drewes. (2017). Maternal third-trimester choline supplementation, fetal NR3C1 methylation, and behavior problems at age 7 [Masters]. Cornell University." https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/59089

In the Media

Altmetric: Overview of coverage for article published in FASEB Journal, April 2018

Visit this link to view exposure in news stories and outlets: Altmetric: Maternal choline supplementation during the third trimester of pregnancy improves infant information processing speed: a randomized, double-blind, controlled feeding study

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