The effects of breastfeeding versus formula-feeding on cerebral cortex maturation in infant rhesus macaques.

ABSTRACT: Breastfeeding is positively associated with several outcomes reflecting early brain development and cognitive functioning. Brain neuroimaging studies have shown that exclusively breastfed children have increased white matter and subcortical gray matter volume compared to formula-fed children. However, it is difficult to disentangle the effects of nutrition in breast milk from other confounding factors that affect brain development, particularly in studies of human subjects. Among the nutrients provided by human breast milk are the carotenoid lutein and the natural form of tocopherol, both of which are selectively deposited in brain. Lutein is the predominant carotenoid in breast milk but not in most infant formulas, whereas infant formulas are supplemented with the synthetic form of tocoph

SUBMITTER: Liu Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6230484 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature