ArticleBrain structure & function2025
Enhanced brain myelination and cognitive development in young children associated with milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) intake: a temporal cohort study.
Article in Brain structure & function, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Milk Fat Globule Membrane Supplementation for Mental Well-Being.Nutrients · 2026Pooled it
- Beyond Saturated Fat: A Four-Dimensional Framework for Understanding Milk Fat in Human Health.Comprehensive reviews in food science and food safety · 2026Review
- Milk Fat Globule Membrane: Structural Organization, Bioactive Constituents, and Therapeutic Applications.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Milk fat globule membrane in early-life nutrition: composition, production, and biological effects on infant immune maturation, intestinal development, neurocognitive function, and growth.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Beyond breastfeeding: a One Health Decalogue for nurturing the infant microbiota.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Breastfeeding, Mother-Child Dyads of Interaction, and Neurodevelopment of Preterm Children: A Longitudinal Study of Feeding Methods During the First Two Years.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Effect of Sphingomyelin and Vitamin D3 Intake on the Rabbit Brain.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Nervonic acid in infant nutrition: a forward-looking approach to enhancing neurodevelopmental outcomes.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
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4 authors.
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Abstract
Myelination is an important neurodevelopmental process that facilitates efficient brain messaging and connectivity, and contributes to the emergence and refinement of cognitive skills and abilities. Healthy maturation of the myelinated white matter requires coordinated delivery of key nutritional building blocks, including short and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, phospholipids, and sphingolipids. While many of these nutrients are amply supplied by breastmilk, they may not be present in sufficient quantity in infant formula milk. Milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) is a rich source of phospholipids, including sphingomyelin and has been associated with improved cognitive development in infants and children when added to infant formula. To determine if added bovine MFGM is also associated with improved myelination, this study used myelin-sensitive MRI to compare myelination trends in healthy infants and toddlers, 0-2 years of age, who received the same branded infant formula with and without added bovine MFGM in two temporal cohorts: Without Added MFGM between 2010 and 2017; and With Added MFGM between 2018-2020. Concurrent with imaging, cognitive development was assessed using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL). Matched for important demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, we found that children who received infant formula with added MFGM showed improved myelination in motor-related areas (motor cortices, internal capsule, and cerebellum) and improved MSEL gross and fine motor scores. No significant differences in verbal or overall cognitive ability scores were noted. These results support the importance of phospholipids, sphingolipids, and sphingomyelin in promoting brain myelination and cognitive development.
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