title: Neurobehavioral effects of prenatal alcohol: Part III. PLS analyses of neuropsychologic tests.
abstract: This paper is the third in a three-part series describing an investigation of the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on the neurobehavioral functioning of 384 children about 7 1/2 years old. Here we describe the use of Partial Least Squares for data reduction and analysis of 158 neurobehavioral measures as they relate to 13 aspects of prenatal alcohol exposure. A general alcohol latent variable, emphasizing both binge and regular drinking patterns in the period prior to pregnancy recognition as well as during pregnancy, predicts a pattern of neurobehavioral deficit that includes attentional and memory deficits across both verbal and visual modalities; a variety of "process" variables reflecting poor integration and quality of responses; behavior patterns involving distractibility and poor organization; and an inflexible approach to problem-solving. The prominence of poorer spatial organization and arithmetic as primary outcomes of alcohol teratogenesis suggests a possible "nonverbal learning disability" pattern of deficit associated with prenatal alcohol exposure at the level of social drinking.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle 98195.
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Streissguth
authors.forename: F L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Bookstein
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Sampson
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Barr
mesh_terms: D001519:Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D002648:Child; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol