{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T16:29:05Z","timestamp":1787243345731,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,16]],"date-time":"2025-04-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1744761600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Pediatr."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title><jats:p>Preterm infants may face neurodevelopmental challenges linked to altered brain maturation processes. This study aimed to investigate the impact of in-hospital breast milk intake on brain resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) and neurological assessment at discharge in preterm infants.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>We collected data on breast milk intake from 97 preterm infants, evaluated neurological outcomes using the Amiel-Tison Neurological Assessment (ATNAT), and assessed rs-FC via functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Groups were stratified by breast milk intake proportion (cutoffs of &amp;gt;70% vs. \u226470%; cutoffs of &amp;gt;90% vs. \u226490%), and conducted logistic regression analysis to explore the relationship between rs-FC and neurological assessment.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Preterm infants with &amp;gt;70% breast milk intake exhibited significantly higher ATNAT levels (<jats:inline-formula><mml:math xmlns:mml=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\" id=\"IM1\"><mml:msup><mml:mi>\u03c7<\/mml:mi><mml:mn>2<\/mml:mn><\/mml:msup><mml:mo>=<\/mml:mo><mml:mspace width=\"0.25em\"\/><mml:mn>8.306<\/mml:mn><mml:mo>,<\/mml:mo><mml:mspace width=\"0.25em\"\/><\/mml:math><\/jats:inline-formula><jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20090.004) and stronger rs-FC (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20090.001) between the right precentral gyrus (PCG) and inferior parietal lobe (IPL). The &amp;gt;90% intake group also showed higher ATNAT levels (<jats:inline-formula><mml:math xmlns:mml=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\" id=\"IM2\"><mml:msup><mml:mi>\u03c7<\/mml:mi><mml:mn>2<\/mml:mn><\/mml:msup><mml:mo>=<\/mml:mo><mml:mspace width=\"0.25em\"\/><mml:mn>7.090<\/mml:mn><mml:mo>,<\/mml:mo><mml:mspace width=\"0.25em\"\/><\/mml:math><\/jats:inline-formula><jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20090.008) and further rs-FC enhancements (PCG-PFL: <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20090.016; PCG-IPL: <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20090.008). Logistic regression confirmed rs-FC as a predictor of optimal neurological assessment [<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20090.011, Exp (B)\u2009=\u20090.206, 95% CI: 0.062\u2013 0.682].<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Higher in-hospital breast milk intake (&amp;gt;70% of total enteral nutrition) improves rs-FC and neurological outcomes in preterm infants, with dose-dependent effects.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fped.2025.1508840","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,16]],"date-time":"2025-04-16T05:26:48Z","timestamp":1744781208000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Higher in-hospital proportion of breast milk intake improves brain functional connectivity and neurological assessment in preterm infants"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Rui","family":"Yang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hua","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qian","family":"Cai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Danqi","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiajun","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shuiqin","family":"Yuan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fang","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xinfen","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","article-title":"Preterm birth [Internet]. 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