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Can gut microbiota throughout the first 10 years of life predict executive functioning in childhood?

Henrik Andreas Eckermann1, Yangwenshan Ou2, Leo Lahti3

  • 1Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Developmental Psychobiology
|March 21, 2022
PubMed

Insights

This study found no significant link between gut bacteria in early life and executive functions in healthy children up to age 10. The gut microbiota composition in infancy and childhood does not appear to strongly influence cognitive skills like working memory.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiome research
  • Developmental psychology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Animal models suggest gut microbiota influences cognitive development.
  • Previous human studies indicated links between infant gut microbiota and cognition.
  • The relationship between gut microbiota and executive functioning in children requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the longitudinal association between fecal microbiota composition in infancy and childhood and executive functioning in childhood.
  • To determine if gut microbiota composition from birth to 10 years predicts executive functions at ages 8 and 10.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of healthy individuals from birth to 10 years.
  • Assessment of executive functioning using the Digit Span test and Behavior Rating Inventory for executive functioning.
  • Analysis of fecal microbial composition at genus level using 16S rRNA gene sequencing from samples collected at multiple time points (infancy and childhood).

Main Results:

  • No significant associations were found between fecal microbiota composition and executive functioning at 8 or 10 years of age.
  • These findings remained consistent after adjusting for potential confounders like breastfeeding, maternal education, and child sex/age.
  • The results suggest a weak or absent relationship between gut microbiota and executive functioning in healthy children.

Conclusions:

  • The gut microbiota composition in infancy and childhood is not strongly associated with executive functioning in healthy community children up to age 10.
  • Further research may be needed to explore potential subtle interactions or specific microbial taxa.
  • Current evidence does not support a significant role of the gut microbiome in shaping executive functions during early development in healthy populations.

Keywords:
children's mental healthcognitive developmentlongitudinal studymicrobiome

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