When it comes to neurological concerns, the vitamins B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), biotin, B6 (pyridoxine), folic acid and B12 (cobalamin) are especially important. These B group vitamins have specific effects on brain cell functions and their deficiency leads to different neurological and psychological problems. Vitamin B12 deficiency is not very common in young adults but older people are more prone to this condition.
Vitamin B12, or cobalamin, is an essential vitamin for the proper functioning and development of the brain and the nerve cells. It plays an important role in the maintenance of the sheaths that cover and protect the nerves of the central and the peripheral nervous system, ensuring proper and faster nerve-impulse transmission.
A fatty substance called myelin is essential for the formation of these sheaths. Vitamin B12 plays a significant role in the synthesis and maintenance of myelin. The neurological problems caused by vitamin B12 deficiency later in life are due to the damage caused to the myelin sheath.