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Infant diet differentially affects human electroencephalographic activities in the first year of life
Author(s) -
Jing Hongkui,
Pivik R.T.,
Gilchrist Janet M.,
Badger Thomas M.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.22.1_supplement.891.6
Subject(s) - electroencephalography , scalp , lateralization of brain function , spectral analysis , audiology , brain development , analysis of variance , medicine , physiology , psychology , zoology , biology , physics , anatomy , neuroscience , psychiatry , quantum mechanics , spectroscopy
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. (Supported by USDA CRIS 6251‐51000‐004‐01S)