Early life factors, gray matter brain volume and academic performance in overweight/obese children: The ActiveBrains
Patricio Solis-Urra1, Irene Esteban-Cornejo2, Cristina Cadenas-Sanchez3
1PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health Through Physical Activity" Research Group, Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), Department of Physical and Sports Education, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Spain; IRyS Research Group, School of Physical Education, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaiso, Valparaiso, Chile.
Insights
Early life factors like birth weight, length, and breastfeeding correlate with brain gray matter volume in children. However, these brain differences did not link to academic performance in this study.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Early life factors significantly impact long-term brain development and academic outcomes.
- Childhood overweight/obesity presents unique challenges for understanding these developmental trajectories.
- Investigating early life influences on brain structure is crucial for identifying potential interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine associations between early life factors (birth weight, birth length, breastfeeding) and gray matter volume in children.
- To determine if early life factor-related gray matter differences predict academic performance in overweight/obese children.
Main Methods:
- Utilized T1-weighted MRI to assess gray matter volume in 96 overweight/obese children (aged 8-11).
- Collected data on birth weight, birth length, gestational age, and breastfeeding practices.
- Employed whole-brain voxel-wise regressions to analyze relationships between early life factors, gray matter volume, and academic achievement.
Main Results:
- Higher birth weight and length were associated with increased gray matter volume in multiple brain regions, including the frontal lobe, thalamus, and cerebellum.
- Longer duration of any breastfeeding correlated with greater gray matter volume in regions like the inferior frontal gyrus.
- No significant associations were found between gray matter volume and academic performance measures.
Conclusions:
- Birth weight, birth length, and breastfeeding are significant predictors of gray matter volume in key brain structures.
- The relationship between these early life-induced brain structural differences and academic achievement in overweight/obese children remains unclear.
- Further research is needed to elucidate the connection between early life factors, brain structure, and academic outcomes.
Abstract:
Early life factors may influence brain and academic outcomes later in life, especially during childhood. Here we investigate the associations of early life factors (i.e., birth weight, birth length, and breastfeeding) with gray matter volume, adjusted for body mass index and cardiorespiratory fitness, and ii) we test whether early-life factor-related differences in gray matter volume are associated with academic performance in overweight/obese children. 96 children with overweight/obesity aged 8-11 years participated. Birth weight, birth length and gestational age were collected from birth records, and breastfeeding practices were asked to parents. T1-weighted images were acquired with a 3.0 T Magnetom Tim Trio system. Academic performance was assessed with the Bateria III Woodcock-Muñoz Tests of Achievement. Whole-brain voxel-wise multiple regressions were used to test the associations of each early life factor with gray matter volume. Higher birth weight and birth length were associated with greater gray matter volume in 9 brain regions including the middle frontal gyrus, rectal gyrus, thalamus, putamen, middle temporal gyrus, lingual gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, calcarine cortex and cerebellum bilaterally (β ranging from 0.361 to 0.539, t ranging from 3.46 to 5.62 and cluster size from 82 to 4478 voxels; p < 0.001); and greater duration of any breastfeeding was associated with greater gray matter volume in 3 regions including the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus and rolandic operculum (β ranging from 0.359 to 0.408, t ranging from 4.01 to 4.32 and cluster size from 64 to 171 voxels; p < 0.001). No associations were found for duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Additionally, none of the gray matter regions that were associated with the early life factors were associated with academic performance (all p > 0.05). Our results demonstrate that birth weight, birth length, and breastfeeding are predictive of gray matter volume of numerous brain structures that are involved in higher order cognition and emotion regulation, but how these results relate to measures of academic achievement remain a matter of speculation.
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