Impact of breast milk on intelligence quotient, brain size, and white matter development

Elizabeth B Isaacs, Bruce R Fischl, Brian T Quinn, Wui K Chong, David G Gadian, Alan Lucas, Elizabeth B Isaacs, Bruce R Fischl, Brian T Quinn, Wui K Chong, David G Gadian, Alan Lucas

Abstract

Although observational findings linking breast milk to higher scores on cognitive tests may be confounded by factors associated with mothers' choice to breastfeed, it has been suggested that one or more constituents of breast milk facilitate cognitive development, particularly in preterms. Because cognitive scores are related to head size, we hypothesized that breast milk mediates cognitive effects by affecting brain growth. We used detailed data from a randomized feeding trial to calculate percentage of expressed maternal breast milk (%EBM) in the infant diet of 50 adolescents. MRI scans were obtained (mean age=15 y 9 mo), allowing volumes of total brain (TBV) and white and gray matter (WMV, GMV) to be calculated. In the total group, %EBM correlated significantly with verbal intelligence quotient (VIQ); in boys, with all IQ scores, TBV and WMV. VIQ was, in turn, correlated with WMV and, in boys only, additionally with TBV. No significant relationships were seen in girls or with gray matter. These data support the hypothesis that breast milk promotes brain development, particularly white matter growth. The selective effect in males accords with animal and human evidence regarding gender effects of early diet. Our data have important neurobiological and public health implications and identify areas for future mechanistic study.

References

    1. Angelsen NK, Vik T, Jacobsen G, Bakketeig LS. Breast feeding and cognitive development at age 1 and 5 years. Arch Dis Child. 2001;85:183–188.
    1. Mortensen EL, Michaelsen KF, Sanders SA, Reinisch JM. The association between duration of breastfeeding and adult intelligence. JAMA. 2002;287:2365–2371.
    1. Der G, Batty GD, Deary IJ. Effect of breast feeding on intelligence in children: prospective study, sibling pairs analysis, and meta-analysis. BMJ. 2006;333:945–950.
    1. Kramer MS, Aboud F, Mirinova E, Vanilovich I, Platt RW, Matush L, Igumnov S, Fombonne E, Bogdanovich N, Ducruet T, Collet J-P, Chalmers B, Hodnett E, Davidovsky S, Skugarevsky O, Trofimovich O, Kozlova L, Shapiro S. Breastfeeding and child cognitive development. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2008;65:578–584.
    1. Anderson JW, Johnstone BM, Remley DT. Breast-feeding and cognitive development: a meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999;70:525–535.
    1. Cheong JL, Hunt RW, Anderson PJ, Howard K, Thompson DK, Wang HX, Bear MJ, Inder TE, Doyle LW. Head growth in preterm infants: correlation with magnetic resonance imaging and neurodevelopmental outcome. Pediatrics. 2008;121:e1534–e1540.
    1. Lucas A, Morley R, Cole TJ, Gore SM, Davis JA, Bamford MF, Dossetor JF. Early diet in preterm babies and developmental status in infancy. Arch Dis Child. 1989;64:1570–1578.
    1. Lucas A, Morley R, Cole TJ. Randomised trial of early diet in preterm babies and later intelligence quotient. BMJ. 1998;317:1481–1487.
    1. Lucas A, Morley R, Cole TJ, Lister G, Leeson-Payne C. Breast milk and subsequent intelligence quotient in children born preterm. Lancet. 1992;339:261–264.
    1. Isaacs EB, Edmonds CJ, Chong WK, Lucas A, Morley R, Gadian DG. Brain morphometry and IQ measurements in preterm children. Brain. 2004;127:2595–2607.
    1. Isaacs EB, Morley R, Lucas A. Early diet and general cognitive outcome at adolescence in children born at or below 30 weeks gestation. J Pediatr. 2009;155:229–234.
    1. Mugler JP, 3rd, Brookeman JR. Three-dimensional magnetization-prepared rapid gradient-echo imaging (3D MP RAGE) Magn Reson Med. 1990;15:152–157.
    1. Fischl B, van der Kouwe A, Destrieux C, Halgren E, Ségonne F, Salat DH, Busa E, Seidman LJ, Goldstein J, Kennedy D, Caviness V, Makris N, Rosen B, Dale AM. Automatically parcelling the human cerebral cortex. Cereb Cortex. 2004;14:11–22.
    1. Rosas HD, Liu AK, Hersch S, Glessner M, Ferrante RJ, Salat DH, van der Kouwe A, Jenkins BG, Dale AM, Fischl B. Regional and progressive thinning of the cortical ribbon in Huntingdon’s disease. Neurology. 2002;58:695–701.
    1. Fischl B, Dale AM. Measuring the thickness of the human cerebral cortex from magnetic resonance images. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2000;97:11050–11055.
    1. Tamnes CK, Østby Y, Fjell AM, Westlye LT, Due-Tønnessen P, Walhovd KB. Brain maturation in adolescence and young adulthood: regional age-related changes in cortical thickness and white matter volume microstructure. Cereb Cortex. 2009 (in press)
    1. Inder TE, Warfield SK, Wang H, Hüppi PS, Volpe JJ. Abnormal cerebral structure is present at term in premature infants. Pediatrics. 2005;115:286–294.
    1. Mabbott DJ, Noseworthy M, Bouffet E, Laughlin S, Rocker C. White matter growth as a mechanism of cognitive development in children. Neuroimage. 2006;33:936–946.
    1. Smart J. Undernutrition, learning and memory: review of experimental studies. In: Taylor TG, Jenkins NK, editors. Proceedings of XII International Congress of Nutrition; London, UK: John Libbey; 1986. pp. 74–78.
    1. Giedd JN, Castellanos FX, Rajapakse JC, Vaituzis AC, Rapoport JL. Sexual dimorphism of the developing human brain. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 1997;21:1185–1201.
    1. Blanton RE, Levitt JG, Peterson JR, Fadale D, Sporty ML, Lee M, To D, Mormino EC, Thompson PM, McCracken JT, Toga AW. Gender differences in the left inferior frontal gyrus in normal children. Neuroimage. 2004;22:626–636.
    1. Gur RC, Turetsky BJ, Matsui M, Yan M, Bilker W, Hughett P, Gur RE. Sex differences in brain gray and white matter in healthy young adults: correlations with cognitive performance. J Neurosci. 1999;19:4065–4072.
    1. Schmithorst VJ, Holland SK. Functional MRI evidence for disparate developmental processes underlying intelligence in boys and girls. Neuroimage. 2006;31:1366–1379.
    1. Kesler SR, Allan LR, Vohr BR, Watson C, Schneider KC, Katz KH, Maller-Kesselman J, Silbereis J, Constable T, Makuch RW, Ment LR. Brain volume reductions within multiple cognitive systems in male preterm children at age twelve. J Pediatr. 2008;152:513–520.
    1. Horwood LJ, Darlow BA, Mogridge N. Breast milk feeding and cognitive ability at 7-8 years. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2001;84:F23–F27.
    1. Benton D. Micro-nutrient supplementation and the intelligence of children. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2001;25:297–309.
    1. Simmer K, Schulzke SM Patole. Longchain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation in preterm infants. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008 CD000375.
    1. de Graaf-Peters VB, Hadders-Algra M. Ontogeny of the human central nervous system: what is happening when? Early Hum Dev. 2006;82:257–266.
    1. Kodama Y, Kikusui T, Takeuchi Y, Mori Y. Effects of early weaning on anxiety and prefrontal cortical and hippocampal myelination in male and female Wistar rats. Dev Psychobiol. 2008;50:332–342.
    1. Uauy R, Mize CE, Castillo-Duran C. Fat intake during childhood: metabolic responses and effects on growth. Am J Clin Nutr. 2000;72:1354S–1360S.
    1. Harit D, Faridi MM, Aggawaral A, Sharma SB. Lipid profile of term infants on exclusive breastfeeding and mixed feeding: a comparative study. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2008;62:203–209.
    1. Saher G, Brugger B, Lappe-Siefke C, Mobius W, Tozawa R, Wehr MC, Wieland F, Ishibashi S, Klaus-Armin N. High cholesterol level is essential for myelin membrane growth. Nat Neurosci. 2005;8:468–475.
    1. Pfrieger FW. Role of glia in synapse development. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2002;12:486–490.
    1. Muldoon MF, Ryan CM, Matthews KA, Manuck SB. Serum cholesterol and intellectual performance. Psychosom Med. 1997;59:382–387.

Source: PubMed

Sponsorer och medarbetare

Medicinska tillstånd

Läkemedelsinterventioner

3
Prenumerera