Popularized summaries of results of research on the effects of malnutrition on brain development and behavior of children frequently tend to misinterpret the effects or are overly simplistic in interpretation of cause and effect. This statement—prepared for the Food and Nutrition Board by the Subcommittee on Nutrition, Brain Development, and Behavior of the Board's Committee on International Nutrition Programs—assesses present knowledge of the relationship of nutrition to brain development and behavior in the perspective of the many factors that influence that process. Subcommittee on Nutrition, Brain Development and Behavior David B. Coursin, Chairman Richard H. Barnes Herbert G. Birch (deceased) Robert Klein Myron Winick Paul B. Pearson (Consultant) Merrill S. Read (Consultant)