The Nugget
- A single 30g dose of wild blueberry powder significantly improved memory and attention in 7-10 year old children compared to placebo, without benefits to reading ability. This suggests equivalent to 1.5 cups of fresh blueberries can provide acute cognitive benefits to children in this age range.
Make it stick
- 🫐 Blueberry brain boost in kids after just one dose
- 💡 WBB enhanced mental alertness on faster attention trials
- 🧠 WBB reduced forgetting and improved word recall vs placebo
- 📖 No acute WBB benefits seen for reading skills in this study
Protocol
- Children consumed a single 30g wild blueberry (WBB) powder drink (253mg anthocyanins) or matched placebo.
- Cognition measured at baseline and 2hrs post-drink: memory (Auditory Verbal Learning Task), attention (Modified Attention Network Task), reading (Test of Word Reading Efficiency).
- Randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-groups design with 54 healthy 7-10 year olds. Provides preliminary but not definitive evidence.
Terminology
- WBB: Wild blueberry powder
- Anthocyanins: Flavonoid compounds abundant in blueberries thought to have cognitive and health benefits
- AVLT: Auditory Verbal Learning Task - test of verbal learning and memory
- MANT: Modified Attention Network Task - tests attention under varying cognitive demand
- TOWRE-2: Test of Word Reading Efficiency - assesses reading ability
Key insights
Blueberry benefits for attention
- WBB group had significantly faster reaction times vs placebo on 120ms MANT trials, indicating enhanced mental alertness, without accuracy deficits.
- No WBB effects on 500ms MANT trials or accuracy measures. Expected effects of congruency and load seen across both groups.
Blueberry benefits for memory
- WBB group performed better on total word acquisition (recall trials 1-5) and short delay recall vs placebo.
- WBB attenuated forgetting and maintained performance 2hrs post-drink while placebo group showed typical decline.
- Suggests WBB reduced fatigue effects and between-session interference on learning and memory.
No blueberry benefit for reading
- No significant effects of WBB on word or non-word reading efficiency subtests of the TOWRE-2.
- Children in this sample were good readers at/above grade level. Results may not generalize to below-average readers.
- Single dose may be insufficient to impact a complex skill like reading. Chronic supplementation and more sensitive reading measures should be explored.
Key quotes
- "Consumption of WBB was found to significantly improve memory and attentional aspects of executive function."
- "These findings support accumulating evidence that flavonoid-rich products are beneficial for healthy brain function, particularly during critical developmental periods."
- "Findings add to the growing body of evidence that flavonoids are beneficial for healthy brain function, and in this instance demonstrate the potential benefits of a 30 g freeze-dried WBB treatment, equivalent to 240 g or 1½ cups of fresh blueberries, during critical developmental periods."
This summary contains AI-generated information and may be misleading or incorrect.