Breastfeeding Boost IQ In Infants With 'Helpful' Genetic Variant

Breastfeeding Boost IQ In Infants With 'Helpful' Genetic Variant - ScienceDaily
2007.11.06
"...in two studies of breast-fed infants involving more than 3,000 children in Britain and New Zealand, breastfeeding was found to raise intelligence an average of nearly 7 IQ points if the children had a particular version of a gene called FADS2..."It is this genetic variant in FADS2, a gene involved in the control of fatty acid pathways, that may help the children make better use of the breast milk and promote the brain development that is associated with a higher IQ score," said Julia Kim-Cohen, assistant professor of psychology at Yale..."Children who do not carry the 'helpful' genetic variant have normal average IQ scores," Kim-Cohen said. "Being breastfed for them is not associated with an IQ advantage."...Ninety percent of the children in the two study groups had at least one copy of the "C" version of FADS2, which yielded higher IQ if they were breast-fed. The other 10 percent, with only the "G" versions of the gene, showed no IQ advantage or disadvantage from breastfeeding...The gene was singled out for the researchers' attention because it produces an enzyme that helps convert dietary fatty acids into the polyunsaturated fatty acids DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and AA (arachidonic acid) that have been shown to accumulate in the human brain during the first months after birth...laboratory studies in which rodents and primates were fed supplemental fatty acids have shown increased brain DHA concentrations and enhanced abilities in tests of learning, memory and problem-solving..."Our findings support the idea that the nutritional content of breast milk accounts for the differences seen in human IQ," Moffitt said. "But it's not a simple all-or-none connection: it depends to some extent on the genetic makeup of each infant."..."

Gene explains why breast-feeding makes kids smarter - Yahoo! News
2007.11.05
"...researchers ruled out alternate explanations, saying the effect of FADS2 applied equally to babies with normal and low birth weight. The effect was also the same no matter the mother's social class or IQ...The team also tested the mothers' DNA and concluded that the FADS2 gene did not somehow alter the quality of breast milk..."We took cells from the children and then analyzed DNA and then we compared how they scored on IQ tests and looked up if they were breast-fed as babies," Moffitt said in a telephone interview. "It was very straightforward."..."

The greatest boost to IQ and memory seems to come from prenatal choline supplementation. ""Taking a nutrient called choline during pregnancy could "super-charge" children's brains for life"

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