Patients with malnutrition can show symptoms of low functioning of various systems, which in the case of the nervous system manifests itself in slow reactions, memory loss, difficulty in establishing conditioned reflexes, depression or irritability. With timely nutritional treatment, brain growth and neurological function can be gradually restored, and subsequently, if good eating habits are maintained, there is little impact on growth and learning.
However, if malnutrition is maintained over a long period of time or if the patient is already severely malnourished at the time of diagnosis, their mental and behavioural development will be affected, requiring treatment to restore cognitive function as part of inpatient treatment, and because brain development may already be affected, even if the malnutrition has been corrected, there are likely to be some long term effects left.