Ottolini KM, et al. - Using quantitative MRI (qMRI) techniques, researchers compared brain growth and white matter development in preterm infants receiving primarily breast milk vs formula feeds. Infants born at the very low birth weight (< 1,500 g) and < 32 weeks gestational age were prospectively recruited and performed MRI at term-equivalent age. Daily nutritional data from the medical record were extracted. For 68 infants admitted within the first week of life (44 breast milk and 24 formula), nutritional and MRI data were gathered. Breast milk-fed infants display significantly larger total brain volumes and volumes relative to formula-fed in the amygdala-hippocampus and cerebellum. In addition, infants receiving breast milk showed greater white matter microstructural organization in the corpus callosum, posterior limb of internal capsule and cerebellum.