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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Little Rock, Arkansas » Microbiome and Metabolism Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #218761
Title: Infant diet differentially affects human electroencephalographic activities in the first year of life

Author
item JING, HONGKUI - ACNC/UAMS
item PIVIK, RUDOLPH - ACNC/UAMS
item GILCHRIST, JANET - ACNC/UAMS
item BADGER, THOMAS - ACNC/UAMS

Submitted to: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/31/2008
Publication Date: 4/9/2008
Citation: Jing, H., Pivik, R.T., Gilchrist, J.M., Badger, T.M. 2008. Infant diet differentially affects human electroencephalographic activities in the first year of life [abstract]. The FASEB Journal. 22:891.6.

Interpretive Summary: Brain development was investigated in three groups of infants who were fed breast milk, milk infant formula, and soy infant formula, respectively. Power spectra of brain electrical activity were calculated at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of age and were used as an index of brain maturation. There were significant differences in spectral power over the frequency ranges of 0.1-30 Hz, indicating that infant formulas can remarkably modify brain development during this period.

Technical Abstract: The influence of infant diet (milk-based formula [MF], soy-based formula [SF], and breast milk [BF]) on brain EEG activities was studied in infants (20 males and 20 females per group) at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of age. Power spectra were calculated in five frequency bands for scalp EEG signals recorded at 124 sites. ANOVA tests were applied to determine effects of diet, gender, age, brain area, and hemisphere. Diet significantly affected EEG spectral power. In Band 1 (0.1-3 Hz), the highest spectral power was observed at 9 months in BF infants in contrast to 6 months in MF and SF infants. In Band 2 (3-6 Hz), compared to MF and SF infants, BF infants had a smaller increase in EEG spectral power from 3 to 6 months. In Band 3 (6-9 Hz), 9-month-old MF infants had higher EEG spectral power in anterior brain areas and lower power in posterior areas relative to BF infants. In Band 4 (9-12 Hz), BF boys showed higher spectral power than BF girls in general, but girls in the MF and SF groups had higher spectral power than boys in those groups. This effect was also observed in Band 5 (12-30 Hz). In addition, EEG spectral power was higher in the left hemisphere relative to the right hemisphere in all infants. Based on these differences for gender, age, brain areas, and hemisphere, our results suggest that infant diet differentially modifies the development of brain physiological functions in the first year of life.