A Positive Correlation between Breast Milk 3’-Sialyllactose and Language Development during Early Infancy - Prof. Weili Lin

A growing body of research, primarily through animal studies, has suggested that specific human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), such as 2’-Fucosyllactose (2’FL), 3’-Sialyllactose (3’SL) and 6’-Sialyllactose (6’SL), may have a positive effect on neurodevelopment and cognitive ability. By leveraging the UNC/UMN Baby Connectome Project (BCP), an accelerated longitudinal cohort study designed to quantitatively map brain functional and structural development in typically developing children 0-5 years of age, and the BCP-Enriched study, an ancillary study with expanded scopes to explore nutritional impacts on early brain development, we aimed to determine whether correlations exist between specific HMOs and cognitive development in early childhood.