title: Persistent dose-dependent changes in brain structure in young adults with low-to-moderate alcohol exposure in utero.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many children with heavy exposure to alcohol in utero display characteristic alterations in brain size and structure. However, the long-term effects of low-to-moderate alcohol exposure on these outcomes are unknown.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using voxel-based morphometry and region-of-interest analyses, we examined the influence of lower doses of alcohol on gray and white matter composition in a prospectively recruited, homogeneous, well-characterized cohort of alcohol-exposed (n = 11, age 19.5 ± 0.3 years) and control (n = 9, age 19.6 ± 0.5 years) young adults. A large proportion of the exposed individuals were born to mothers whose alcohol consumption during pregnancy was in the low-to-moderate range.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no differences in total brain volume or total gray or white matter volume between the exposed and control groups. However, gray matter volume was reduced in alcohol-exposed individuals in several areas previously reported to be affected by high levels of exposure, including the left cingulate gyrus, bilateral middle frontal gyri, right middle temporal gyrus, and right caudate nucleus. Notably, this gray matter loss was dose dependent, with higher exposure producing more substantial losses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results indicate that even at low doses, alcohol exposure during pregnancy impacts brain development and that these effects persist into young adulthood.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences , Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Kristen L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Eckstrand
authors.forename: Zhaohua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Neil C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Dodge
authors.forename: Ronald L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Cowan
authors.forename: Joseph L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Jacobson
authors.forename: Sandra W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Jacobson
authors.forename: Malcolm J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Avison
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000473:pathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000633:toxicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol