Prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal factors have been shown to shape neurobiological functioning and alter the risk for mental disorders later in life. The gut microbiome is established early in life, and interacts with the brain via the brain-immune-gut axis. However, little is known about how the microbiome relates to early-life cognitive functioning in children. The present study, where the fecal microbiome of 380 children was characterized using 16S rDNA and metagenomic sequencing aimed to investigate the association between the microbiota and cognitive functioning of children at the age of 45 months measured with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI-III).

Overall the microbiome profile showed a significant association with cognitive functioning. A strong correlation was found between cognitive functioning and the relative abundance of an unidentified genus of the family Enterobacteriaceae. Follow-up mediation analyses revealed significant mediation effects of the level of this genus on the association of maternal smoking during pregnancy and current cigarette smoking with cognitive function. Metagenomic sequencing of a subset of these samples indicated that the identified genus was most closely related to Enterobacter asburiae. Analysis of metabolic potential showed a nominally significant association of cognitive functioning with the microbial norspermidine biosynthesis pathway.

Our results indicate that alteration of the gut microflora is associated with cognitive functioning in childhood. Furthermore, they suggest that the altered microflora might interact with other environmental factors such as maternal cigarette smoking. Interventions directed at altering the microbiome should be explored in terms of improving cognitive functioning in young children.

产前、围产期和产后因素已被证明会影响神经生物学功能并改变日后发生精神障碍的风险。肠道微生物组在生命早期就建立起来，并通过大脑-免疫-肠道轴与大脑相互作用。然而，人们对微生物组与儿童早期认知功能的关系知之甚少。本研究使用 16S rDNA 和宏基因组测序对 380 名儿童的粪便微生物组进行了表征，旨在调查使用 Wechsler 学龄前和初级智力量表 (WPPSI) 测量的 45 个月大儿童的微生物组与认知功能之间的关联。 -III)。

总体而言，微生物组谱显示出与认知功能的显着关联。在认知功能和肠杆菌科一个未鉴定的属的相对丰度之间发现了很强的相关性。后续中介分析显示，该属的水平对孕期母亲吸烟和当前吸烟与认知功能之间的关联具有显着的中介作用。这些样本的一个子集的宏基因组测序表明，所鉴定的属与Asburiae 肠杆菌最密切相关。代谢潜力分析表明，认知功能与微生物去甲精胺生物合成途径存在名义上的显着关联。

我们的研究结果表明，肠道菌群的改变与儿童时期的认知功能有关。此外，他们认为改变的微生物群落可能与其他环境因素相互作用，例如母亲吸烟。应在改善幼儿的认知功能方面探索旨在改变微生物组的干预措施。