title: Nutrition and theory of mind--The role of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in the development of theory of mind.
abstract: Breast-milk provides nutrients required for the development of the brain. n-6 and n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) have been suggested to be particularly involved. In this study levels of fatty acids in breast-milk were examined in relation to theory of mind (ToM) (n = 13) and WISC-III (n = 22) in six-year-old children. ToM tasks comprised four illustrated stories with questions about emotional (sad) events. Single polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) were estimated as well as ratios between different fatty acids in order to describe putative associations between PUFA and psychological measures. Results show correlations between both ToM and WISC-III with single n-6 PUFA and the ratios DHA/AA and DHA/DPA. The correlations remained when socio-demographic factors were statistically controlled for. The positive findings related to the n-6 and n-3 LCPUFAs corroborate previous findings related to child cognitive development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Sciences, Linköping University, S-58183 Linköping, Sweden. ulrbi@ibv.liu.se
authors.forename: Ulrika
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Birberg-Thornberg
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Karlsson
authors.forename: Per A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Gustafsson
authors.forename: Karel
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Duchén
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D003071:Cognition; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000502:physiology; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6 / Q000502:physiology; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000502:physiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated