A study of cortical morphology in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
Prenatal alcohol exposure is responsible for a broad range of brain structural malformations, which can be studied using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Advanced MRI methods have emerged to characterize brain abnormalities, but the teratogenic effects of alcohol on cortical morphology have received little attention to date. Twenty-four 9-year-old children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (9 with fetal alcohol syndrome, 15 heavy exposed nonsyndromal children) and 16 age-matched controls were studied to assess the effect of alcohol consumption during pregnancy on cortical morphology. An automated method was applied to 3D T1-weighted images to assess cortical gyrification using global and regional sulcal indices and two region-based morphological measurements, mean sulcal depth and fold opening. Increasing levels of alcohol exposure were related to reduced cortical folding complexity, even among children with normal brain size, indicating a reduction of buried cortical surface. Fold opening was the strongest anatomical correlate of prenatal alcohol intake, indicating a widening of sulci in all regions that were examined. These data identify cortical morphology as a suitable marker for further investigation of brain damage associated with prenatal alcohol exposure.
LNAO, NeuroSpin, I2BM, CEA, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
François
F
De Guio
Jean-François
JF
Mangin
Denis
D
Rivière
Matthieu
M
Perrot
Christopher D
CD
Molteno
Sandra W
SW
Jacobson
Ernesta M
EM
Meintjes
Joseph L
JL
Jacobson
D000438:Alcohols / Q000009:adverse effects; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D013019:South Africa
D000438:Alcohols
FAS; cortical morphology; fetal alcohol spectrum disorders; fold opening