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Volume 13
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10.3390/brainsci13010053
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Article

Searching for a Relationship between Early Breastfeeding and Cognitive Development of Attention and Working Memory Capacity

by
Tiziana Pedale
1,2,*,
Serena Mastroberardino
3,
Claudia Del Gatto
4,
Michele Capurso
3,
Francesca Bellagamba
5,
Elsa Addessi
6,
Simone Macrì
7 and
Valerio Santangelo
2,3,*
1
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology “Vittorio Erspamer”, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
2
Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy
3
Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences & Education, University of Perugia, Piazza G. Ermini 1, 06123 Perugia, Italy
4
Cognitive and Clinical Psychology Laboratory, Department of Human Sciences, Università Europea Di Roma, Via degli Aldobrandeschi, 190, 00163 Rome, Italy
5
Dipartimento di Psicologia Dinamica, Clinica e Salute, Sapienza Università di Roma, Via degli Apuli 1, 00185 Rome, Italy
6
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie della Cognizione, Via Ulisse Aldrovandi, 16/b, 00197 Rome, Italy
7
Centre for Behavioural Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Brain Sci. 2023, 13(1), 53; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13010053
Submission received: 30 November 2022 / Revised: 17 December 2022 / Accepted: 21 December 2022 / Published: 27 December 2022
(This article belongs to the Collection Collection on Developmental Neuroscience)
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Abstract

Previous research consistently reported that subjects that were exclusively breastfed (eBF) vs. not-exclusively breastfed (neBF) during infancy (0–6 months) showed increased scores of general intelligence measures (e.g., the intelligence quotient). However, the existent literature largely neglected whether breastfeeding also affects specific cognitive processes, such as attention and working memory (WM) capacity. We tested whether eBF vs. neBF subjects showed performance differences in relation to these two core cognitive functions. The Attention Network Test (ANT), to measure alerting, orienting, and conflict, and the Change Colour Task (CCT), to measure visuospatial WM capacity, were administered to 144 participants divided according to age (6-, 10-, and 18-year-old participants) and breastfeeding (eBF or neBF during 0–6 months of life). Importantly, the sub-groups were homogenous in terms of maternal education, a factor potentially affecting the relation between breastfeeding and cognition. While we found increased performance as a function of participants’ age in both tasks, we failed to observe effects related to breastfeeding, as evidenced by Bayesian analyses. These findings highlight for the first time that the pattern of nutrition provided during early infancy does not appear to affect the development of attention and WM capacity, at least starting from the age considered in the present study.
Keywords: alerting; orienting; conflict; executive function; attention; working memory capacity; breastfeeding; cognitive development alerting; orienting; conflict; executive function; attention; working memory capacity; breastfeeding; cognitive development

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MDPI and ACS Style

Pedale, T.; Mastroberardino, S.; Del Gatto, C.; Capurso, M.; Bellagamba, F.; Addessi, E.; Macrì, S.; Santangelo, V. Searching for a Relationship between Early Breastfeeding and Cognitive Development of Attention and Working Memory Capacity. Brain Sci. 2023, 13, 53. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13010053

AMA Style

Pedale T, Mastroberardino S, Del Gatto C, Capurso M, Bellagamba F, Addessi E, Macrì S, Santangelo V. Searching for a Relationship between Early Breastfeeding and Cognitive Development of Attention and Working Memory Capacity. Brain Sciences. 2023; 13(1):53. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13010053

Chicago/Turabian Style

Pedale, Tiziana, Serena Mastroberardino, Claudia Del Gatto, Michele Capurso, Francesca Bellagamba, Elsa Addessi, Simone Macrì, and Valerio Santangelo. 2023. "Searching for a Relationship between Early Breastfeeding and Cognitive Development of Attention and Working Memory Capacity" Brain Sciences 13, no. 1: 53. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13010053

APA Style

Pedale, T., Mastroberardino, S., Del Gatto, C., Capurso, M., Bellagamba, F., Addessi, E., Macrì, S., & Santangelo, V. (2023). Searching for a Relationship between Early Breastfeeding and Cognitive Development of Attention and Working Memory Capacity. Brain Sciences, 13(1), 53. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13010053

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