Psychophysiological differences in semantic processing in breastfed and formula-fed children

Authors: ALLATORRE-CRUZ, GRACIELA - University Arkansas For Medical Sciences (UAMS); ANDRES, ALINE - University Arkansas For Medical Sciences (UAMS); DOWNS, HEATHER - Arkansas Children'S Nutrition Research Center (ACNC); HAGOOD, DARCY - Arkansas Children'S Nutrition Research Center (ACNC); GU, YUYUAN - Arkansas Children'S Nutrition Research Center (ACNC); LARSON-PRIOR, LINDA - University Arkansas For Medical Sciences (UAMS)

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/13/2023
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Multiple brain changes associated with speech comprehension occur in childhood, and some factors have been linked to optimal language development, such as infant feeding. Recent studies suggest that breastfed infants show greater behavioral performance in language comprehension than infants fed with formula. Therefore, we compared the brain electrical activity associated with language comprehension of auditive stimuli between three dietary groups (breastfed, cow, and soy-based formulas) when they were six years old. The groups differed in the brain electrical activity linked to attention process and semantic analysis, revealing more integrity and activation of neural networks and superior specialization in brain structures for breastfed children than those fed with formula.

Technical Abstract: Introduction Multiple structural and functional changes occur in the brain network associated with speech comprehension in childhood; including, the specialization of brain areas linked to semantic processing (Etchell et al., 2016; Wang et al., 2021) and brain lateralization associated with language processing in general (Weiss-Croft & Baldeweg, 2015). However, the maturation of brain areas related to language is affected by multiple factors, such as caregivers' nonverbal expressions and verbal stimulation (Marklund et al., 2019) or infant feeding. Recent studies report a long-term effect of the infant's diet on behavioral and brain development associated with language (Ou et al., 2014; Quigley et al., 2012). Moreover, other studies report that breastfed infants seem to display an electrophysiological pattern associated with a greater maturation in phonological discrimination (Li et al., 2012; Pivik et al., 2012), suggesting that human milk contains a variety of constituents that promote optimal brain development (Mahurin Smith, 2015). Therefore, in this study, we compared the speech comprehension of three infant dietary groups. We hypothesized that the infant's diet affects brain electrical activity associated with children's semantic processing of auditive stimuli. Methods Two hundred and sixty-four children aged six years (71 – 72 months) were included in this study. They were part of a follow-up study where the participants were stabilized on one of three diets at 2 months that was maintained until 12 months of age: 99 breastfed children (BF) (mean, (M)= 71.49 months), 82 participants fed diary-based formula (MF) (M =71.49 months), and 83 children fed with soy-based formula (SF) (M = 71.45 months). Children were assessed using the Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Functions (BRIEF), Children’s Memory Scale (CMS), Wechsler Abbreviated Scales of Intelligence (WASI-II), and the semantic incongruency task (see figure 1). The electroencephalogram was recorded using the Geodesic Net Amps 200 system running Netstation 2 software from 128 channels (Electrical Geodesics, Inc., Eugene OR, USA). Data were amplified and bandpass filtered at 0.1–55 Hz with a sampling rate of 250 Hz. Dietary groups were compared in BRIEF and CMS scores, and intelligence quotient (IQ), and for amplitude and latency of P300 and N400 components using ANOVAs. Results The dietary groups differed in psychometric scores. The BF had greater BRIEF score than MF groups (p< .001), and higher IQ than SF groups (p <. 05). BF group also showed an electrophysiological pattern associated with greater attention and semantic analysis maturation than the other dietary groups. The electrophysiological pattern was characterized by a greater modulation of the P300 component linked to the experimental condition (semantically congruent or incongruent sentences) (p < .05), and greater N400 amplitude in central and parietal regions associated with more efficient semantic analysis (p < .05) (see figure 2). Conclusions Our findings revealed that, in this cohort, the infant's diet influences speech comprehension, particularly in the semantic analysis of auditory stimuli. Breastfeeding during infancy promotes a more advanced neural maturation reflected in greater neural resources, more integrity and activation of neural networks, and superior specialization in brain structures than infant formula feeding.