The range of exogenous agents, such as alcohol and cocaine, which are generally likely to detrimentally affect the development of the brain and CNS defies estimation, although the accumulated evidence is substantial.57–60 Pubertal age affects the fundamental property of nervous tissue excitability; excessive excitatory drive is seen in early puberty and a deficiency is seen in late puberty. It has been postulated that, with adequate fish oils and fatty acids, the risk of psychopathology can be minimized, whereas a deficiency could lead to subcortical dysfunction in early puberty, and a breakdown of cortical circuitry and cognitive dysfunctions in late puberty.61 Thus, postpubertal psychoses, schizophrenia, and manic–depressive psychosis during the pubertal age, along with excitability, may be the result of continuous dietary deficiency, which may inhibit the expression of the oligodendrocyte-related genes responsible for myelinogenesis. The beneficial effect of fish oils and fatty acids in schizophrenia, fetal alcohol syndrome, developmental dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and in other CNS disorders supports the hypothesis that the typical diet might be persistently deficient in the affected individuals, as illustrated in Figure 6. However,
