A recent study in Texas found babies fed formula enhanced with the fatty acids DHA (docosahexaenoic) and ARA (arachidonic) showed improved cognitive abilities compared to a control group.

The results, published yesterday in the journal Child Development, led researchers to conclude that supplementing formula with these polyunsaturated fatty acids found naturally in breast milk, increased the problem-solving abilities of the 9-month-olds in the study.

Slightly more than 200 9-month-olds with varying levels of prior breastmilk exposure were studied as they attempted to pull a ball, which was on a blanket, over to themselves. The findings showed that those receiving the supplement did markedly better on the tests. The researchers claim infants who do well in tests like these go on to have increased vocabulary and I.Q.s later on in life.

However, those who were weaned off of breastmilk between 4-6 months of age, showed no perceivable boost from the enhanced formula, suggesting possibly they had not received enough of the formula or they had received so much of the DHA/ARA from the breast milk that the amounts in the formula were superfluous.

All of the formula was provided to the researchers by Mead Johnson Nutritionals, makers of Enfamil.

According to an ABC News report on the study, professor of public health at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Dr. Miriam Labbok said via e-mail, "It might be reasonable from these industry-funded studies to consider that this would be a good additive to formula if you are forced to stop breast-feeding, However, 1) none of these studies compare to continued breast-feeding, 2) you could also get these [nutrients] from other sources if you stop breast-feeding, and 3) there are hundreds, if not thousands, of other components in human milk that cannot be replaced."

While scientists are not exactly sure what the DHA/ARA does, the Los Angeles Times reports some of them "speculate that the fatty acids collect in the central nervous system, thereby speeding brain processing," or they "bolster the brain’s prefrontal cortex, making it easier for infants to shift their focus from one problem to another, allowing them to tackle more complicated tasks, according to the study."

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