Core Concepts
Specific gut microbes influence children's cognitive function.
Abstract
TOPLINE:
Gut microbes linked to cognitive function in children aged 18 months to 10 years.
METHODOLOGY:
Relationship between microbiome, neuroanatomy, and cognition analyzed in 381 children.
Stool samples correlated with cognitive and behavioral assessments.
Shotgun metagenomic sequencing used to analyze DNA.
MRI data used to predict brain region volume influenced by microbial profiles.
TAKEAWAY:
Increasing variation in microbial species correlated with cognitive function scores.
Enriched species positively associated with higher cognitive function.
Sutterella wadsworthensis negatively linked to cognitive function.
Key taxa predicting cognitive function also important for brain regions.
IN PRACTICE:
Understanding the gut-brain-microbiome axis crucial in early life.
SOURCE:
Study led by Kevin S. Bonham, PhD, published in Science Advances.
LIMITATIONS:
Reliability issues due to multiple cognitive assessments and pandemic impact.
DISCLOSURES:
Study funded by US National Institutes of Health and Wellcome: LEAP 1kD.
Stats
Researchers analyzed stool samples from 381 children aged 40 days to 10 years.
Increasing variation in microbial species correlated with cognitive function scores.
Several microbial species enriched in children with higher cognitive function scores.
Sutterella wadsworthensis negatively associated with cognitive function.
Key taxa predicting cognitive function also important for brain regions.
Quotes
"Understanding the gut-brain-microbiome axis in early life is particularly important since differences or interventions in early life can have outsized and longer-term consequences than those at later ages." - Authors