Food for Thought - Functional Foods and their Effect on the Brain and Behavior

The relationship between food and health has long been recognized. Food is consumed to obtain nutrients and satisfy metabolic needs, however, some foods do more than this. ‘Functional foods’ is a term used to describe foods that go beyond meeting basic nutritional needs and present additional properties for health. This could be physical, mental, and immune health. Functional foods are natural, consumed as part of the daily diet, and serve a particular function when eaten.
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The seminar is suitable for pet owners, veterinary professionals, animal trainers, animal behaviorists, pet guardians, and anyone with an interest in the neuroscience of training and behavior. 

1.5 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) available:
CPDT
IAABC
KPA
PPAB
RACE

In this Webinar: 

Emerging science supports a link between diet and brain processes such as cognition and learning. From the brain using more oxygen than any other organ and therefore being susceptible to oxidative stress, as well as having high energy demands even at rest, through to the Gut-Brain axis connection to the microbiome, functional foods have a huge potential influence on the brain and behavior.

In this webinar we will be covering:

  • What is meant by the term functional foods and what evidence do we have / not have for some foods having specific health benefits?
  • Does food affect mood and behavior?
  • Could functional foods aid cognition during different life stages?
  • Could behavioral modification and training be supported by functional foods?

Meet the instructor

Kathy Murphy BVetMed, DPhil, CVA, CLAS, MRCVS

Kathy Murphy (BVetMed, DPhil, CVA, CLAS, MRCVS) is a veterinary surgeon and neuroscientist. She recently joined the Behavior Vets team as the Chief Scientific Officer.

She graduated from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons UK in 1999, initially working in mixed clinical practice before studying for two postgraduate clinical qualifications. In 2009 she was awarded a highly prestigious Welcome Research Training Fellowship to study for her Ph.D., in Behavioral Neuroscience, at The Queens College, University of Oxford, UK. She subsequently worked in the USA as Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and Anesthesiology at the Icahn School of Medicine NYC; and is now back in the UK, where she holds a clinical-academic position as Director of the Comparative Biology Centre at Newcastle University and Director of Barking Brains Ltd (a neuroscience outreach program for the animal behavior and training community). Her clinical interest has always been anesthesia, and analgesia, since the age of 13yo and she has recently completed a residency at the European College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia.

In addition to her primary career roles she was Trustee and Veterinary Advisor to the Rottweiler Welfare Association for 14 years, is a founder of Ethics First (a collective that lobbies for ethical decision-making in clinical practice), and is an Oversight Committee Member for the UK Dog Behavior and Training Charter, sits on numerous National and International boards, working groups and ethical review panels, and most of all love spending time with her own 5 dogs and her husband.
Patrick Jones - Course author
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