The University of Alberta held a study that included over 400 infants from the CHILD Cohort study. They found that boys with a gut bacterial composition high in Bacteroidetes were more advanced in cognitive and language skills one year later compared to boys with lower levels. In general, girls mostly score higher than boys in cognition and language at early ages. There are subtle differences between the male and female microbiota. However, girls are more likely to have more Bacteroidetes early on, which could be why their scores are higher than boys. “But when it comes to gut microbial composition, it was the male infants where we saw this connection between the Bacteroidetes and the improved scores,” said Anita Kozyrskyj, a professor of pediatrics at the U of A.
First, Kozyrskyj says Bacteroidetes are important for the formation of neurons in the brain. They are one of a very few bacteria that produce metabolites called sphingolipids. You should see improved cognitive and language scores if you have more of these microbes. The researchers studied bacteria in the infants by using fecal samples. In conclusion, they found dominant clusters of bacteria in three different groups. Only male infants with Bacteroidetes-dominant bacteria showed improvement within those groups.
Next, Kozyrskyj also noted that Bacteroidetes can be reduced because of C-section births. There are more factors that can help with gut microbiota composition in infants:
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Breastfeeding
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Having a high-fiber diet
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Living with a dog
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Being exposed to nature and green spaces
This study offers a way to possibly identify neurodevelopmental issues in children early on. The team of researchers will continue to monitor the participants in this study to determine whether or not the results of this study can help predict ADD/ADHD or autism. They continue to investigate what other factors may have an impact on infants. For example, stress and gut growth by the bacterium Clostridium difficile.
In conclusion, who would have known gut bacteria would have a big impact on infants so early on? Most people are only aware of external factors that can help advance children. Parents to-be and those would love to be parents one day can be ahead of the game with this information.
FeaturedNeuroscienceOpen Neuroscience Articles·July 13, 2021, et al. “Species of Gut Bacteria Linked to Enhanced Cognition and Language Skills in Infant Boys.” Neuroscience News, 13 July 2021, https://neurosciencenews.com/boys-bacteria-cognition-language-18911/.
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