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This substance, abundant in breast milk, determines the structure and connections between neurons, according to various studies.

Human milk contains components that play a role in infant nutrition and development of tissues and organs during the first months of life. These substances are not present in infant formula, or at least not in the same amount. One is the sialic acid, an oligosaccharide (a type of carbohydrate) that accumulates in nerve tissue, especially in the brain.

The concentration of oligosaccharides in human milk varies: its synthesis depends on the genetic inheritance of the mother, breastfeeding and time of day, but does not seem to be affected by maternal diet. Current research seeks to explain whether the sialic acid is conditional during periods of rapid brain growth and if it confers benefits brain development and learning breastfed infants, compared with those fed infant formula.