title: White matter microstructure abnormalities and executive function in adolescents with prenatal cocaine exposure.
abstract: Children with prenatal exposure to cocaine are at higher risk for negative behavioral function and attention difficulties, and have demonstrated brain diffusion abnormalities in frontal white matter regions. However, brain regions beyond frontal and callosal areas have not been investigated using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). DTI data were collected on 42 youth aged 14-16 years; subjects were divided into three groups based on detailed exposure histories: those with prenatal exposure to cocaine but not alcohol (prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE), n=12), prenatal exposure to cocaine and alcohol (cocaine and alcohol exposure (CAE), n=17), and controls (n=13). Tractography was performed and along-tract diffusion parameters were examined for group differences and correlations with executive function measures. In the right arcuate fasciculus and cingulum, the CAE group had higher fractional anisotropy (FA) and/or lower mean diffusivity (MD) than the other two groups. The PCE group demonstrated lower FA in the right arcuate and higher MD in the splenium of the corpus callosum than controls. Diffusion parameters in tracts with group differences correlated with measures of executive function. In conclusion, these diffusion differences in adolescents with prenatal cocaine exposure suggest localized, long-term structural brain alterations that may underlie attention and response-inhibition difficulties.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lebel
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Warner
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Colby
authors.forename: Lindsay
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Soderberg
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Roussotte
authors.forename: Marylou
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Behnke
authors.forename: Fonda
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Davis Eyler
authors.forename: Elizabeth R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Sowell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016880:Anisotropy; D001111:Arcuate Nucleus of Hypothalamus / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003042:Cocaine / Q000633:toxicity*; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000473:pathology; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D000431:Ethanol / Q000633:toxicity; D056344:Executive Function / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000473:pathology*; D059906:Neuroimaging; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology*
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol; D003042:Cocaine