title: Neural correlates of cerebellar-mediated timing during finger tapping in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Classical eyeblink conditioning (EBC), an elemental form of learning, is among the most sensitive indicators of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. The cerebellum plays a key role in maintaining timed movements with millisecond accuracy required for EBC. Functional MRI (fMRI) was used to identify cerebellar regions that mediate timing in healthy controls and the degree to which these areas are also recruited in children with prenatal alcohol exposure.
  
  
  METHODS
  fMRI data were acquired during an auditory rhythmic/non-rhythmic finger tapping task. We present results for 17 children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) or partial FAS, 17 heavily exposed (HE) nonsyndromal children and 16 non- or minimally exposed controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Controls showed greater cerebellar blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) activation in right crus I, vermis IV-VI, and right lobule VI during rhythmic than non-rhythmic finger tapping. The alcohol-exposed children showed smaller activation increases during rhythmic tapping in right crus I than the control children and the most severely affected children with either FAS or PFAS showed smaller increases in vermis IV-V. Higher levels of maternal alcohol intake per occasion during pregnancy were associated with reduced activation increases during rhythmic tapping in all four regions associated with rhythmic tapping in controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The four cerebellar areas activated by the controls more during rhythmic than non-rhythmic tapping have been implicated in the production of timed responses in several previous studies. These data provide evidence linking binge-like drinking during pregnancy to poorer function in cerebellar regions involved in timing and somatosensory processing needed for complex tasks requiring precise timing.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical Research Council, University of Cape Town Medical Imaging Research Unit, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa ; Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Lindie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: du Plessis
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa ; Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa ; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Sandra W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Jacobson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Christopher D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Molteno
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical Research Council, University of Cape Town Medical Imaging Research Unit, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa ; Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Frances C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.affiliation: Institute for the Developing Mind, Children's Hospital Los Angeles and the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Bradley S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa ; Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa ; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Jacobson
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical Research Council, University of Cape Town Medical Imaging Research Unit, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa ; Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Ernesta M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Meintjes
mesh_terms: D002531:Cerebellum / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005385:Fingers; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Cerebellum; Eyeblink conditioning; Fetal alcohol syndrome; Finger tapping; Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI); Prenatal alcohol exposure
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