Prenatal alcohol exposure and interhemispheric transfer of tactile information: Detroit and Cape Town findings.
BACKGROUND
Previous research has demonstrated that heavy prenatal alcohol exposure affects the size and shape of the corpus callosum (CC) and compromises interhemispheric transfer of information. The aim of this study was to confirm the previous reports of poorer performance on a finger localization test (FLT) of interhemispheric transfer in a cohort of heavily exposed children and to extend these findings to a cohort of moderately exposed young adults.


METHODS
In Study 1, the FLT was administered to 40 heavily exposed and 23 nonexposed children from the Cape Coloured community of Cape Town, South Africa, who were evaluated for fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) dysmorphology and growth. Anatomical images of the CC were obtained using structural MRI on a subset of these children. In Study 2, the FLT was administered to a cohort of 85 moderate-to-heavily exposed young adults participating in a 19-year follow-up assessment of the Detroit Prenatal Alcohol Exposure cohort, whose alcohol exposure had been ascertained prospectively during gestation.


RESULTS
In Study 1, children with FAS showed more transfer-related errors than controls after adjustment for confounding, and increased transfer-related errors were associated with volume reductions in the isthmus and splenium of the CC. In Study 2, transfer-related errors were associated with quantity of alcohol consumed per occasion during pregnancy. More errors were made if the mother reported binge drinking (> or =5 standard drinks) during pregnancy than if she drank regularly (M > or = 1 drink/day) without binge drinking.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings confirm a previous report of impaired interhemispheric transfer of tactile information in children heavily exposed to alcohol in utero and extend these findings to show that these deficits are also seen in more moderately exposed individuals, particularly those exposed to binge-like pregnancy drinking.
Dodge
Neil C
NC
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48207, USA.
Jacobson
Joseph L
JL
Molteno
Christopher D
CD
Meintjes
Ernesta M
EM
Bangalore
Sumana
S
Diwadkar
Vaibhav
V
Hoyme
Eugene H
EH
Robinson
Luther K
LK
Khaole
Nathaniel
N
Avison
Malcolm J
MJ
Jacobson
Sandra W
SW
D000014:Abnormalities, Drug-Induced / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D061085:Agenesis of Corpus Callosum; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000502:physiology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D005385:Fingers / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008423:Maternal Age; D008824:Michigan; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects; D013019:South Africa; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology*
D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol