Characterization of white matter microstructure in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
BACKGROUND
Exposure to alcohol during gestation is associated with CNS alterations, cognitive deficits, and behavior problems. This study investigated microstructural aspects of putative white matter abnormalities following prenatal alcohol exposure.


METHODS
Diffusion tensor imaging was used to assess white matter microstructure in 27 youth (age range: 8 to 18 years) with (n = 15) and without (n = 12) histories of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure. Voxelwise analyses, corrected for multiple comparisons, compared fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) between groups, throughout the cerebrum.


RESULTS
Prenatal alcohol exposure was associated with low FA in multiple cerebral areas, including the body of the corpus callosum and white matter innervating bilateral medial frontal and occipital lobes. Fewer between-group differences in MD were observed.


CONCLUSIONS
These data provide an account of cerebral white matter microstructural integrity in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and support extant literature showing that white matter is a target of alcohol teratogenesis. The white matter anomalies characterized in this study may relate to the neurobehavioral sequelae associated with gestational alcohol exposure, especially in areas of executive dysfunction and visual processing deficits.
Fryer
Susanna L
SL
San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego, California, USA. sfryer@ucsd.edu
Schweinsburg
Brian C
BC
Bjorkquist
Olivia A
OA
Frank
Lawrence R
LR
Mattson
Sarah N
SN
Spadoni
Andrea D
AD
Riley
Edward P
EP
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D016880:Anisotropy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D054022:Cerebrum / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D002648:Child; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy