The relationship between the gut microbiota and brain function are receiving increasing research attention. Studies investigating gut microbiota and early childhood neurocognition are limited, particularly in longitudinal measurements. We examined cross-sectional relationships between gut microbiota of a cohort of otherwise healthy children using 16S rRNA sequencing and their cognitive development measured with Bayley's Scales of Infant Development III at 24 months of age (n = 43), and longitudinal relationships between gut microbiota composition at 12 months (n = 41) of age and neurodevelopment at 24 months of age. Associations between gut microbiota characteristics and cognitive development were observed both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, notably with butyrate producing bacteria among some children. Bacterial diversity varied between cross-sectional and longitudinal observations, where the gut microbiota community of children with lower cognitive scores had a trend toward higher alpha diversity, whereas, in the longitudinal observation, a trend toward reduced alpha diversity was observed. This study is limited by a small sample size and its exploratory nature. Yet, the study contributes to knowledge in the gut microbiota characteristics and early life neurodevelopment, a field of study which is underexplored, presenting opportunities for future larger specific studies.

中文翻译：

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肠道微生物群组成与生命第二年认知之间的横断面和纵向关联：儿童健康和常驻微生物研究的结果

肠道菌群与大脑功能之间的关系正受到越来越多的研究关注。调查肠道微生物群和儿童早期神经认知的研究是有限的，特别是在纵向测量中。我们使用 16S rRNA 测序检查了一组其他健康儿童的肠道微生物群与他们在 24 个月大（ n = 43）时使用贝利婴儿发育量表 III 测量的认知发育之间的横截面关系 ，以及肠道微生物群组成之间的纵向关系12 个月时（n = 41) 年龄和 24 个月大时的神经发育。在横断面和纵向上都观察到肠道微生物群特征与认知发育之间的关联，特别是在一些儿童中产生丁酸盐的细菌。细菌多样性在横断面和纵向观察之间存在差异，其中认知评分较低儿童的肠道微生物群落具有较高的α多样性趋势，而在纵向观察中，观察到α多样性降低的趋势。这项研究受到样本量小及其探索性的限制。然而，该研究有助于了解肠道微生物群特征和早期生命神经发育，这是一个尚未充分探索的研究领域，为未来更大规模的具体研究提供了机会。