title: Prenatal Alcohol Exposure is Associated with Regionally Thinner Cortex During the Preadolescent Period.
abstract: Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) may exhibit craniofacial dysmorphology, neurobehavioral deficits, and reduced brain volume. Studies of cortical thickness in FASD have yielded contradictory findings, with 3 reporting thicker cerebral cortex in frontal and temporal brain regions and 2 showing thinner cortex across multiple regions. All 5 studies included subjects spanning a broad age range, and none have examined continuous measures of prenatal alcohol exposure. We investigated the relation of extent of in utero alcohol exposure to cortical thickness in 78 preadolescent children with FASD and controls within a narrow age range. A whole-brain analysis using FreeSurfer revealed no significant clusters where cortical thickness differed by FASD diagnostic group. However, alcohol dose/occasion during pregnancy was inversely related to cortical thickness in 3 regions-right cuneus/pericalcarine/superior parietal lobe, fusiform/lingual gyrus, and supramarginal/postcentral gyrus. The effect of prenatal alcohol exposure on IQ was mediated by cortical thickness in the right occipitotemporal region. It is noteworthy that a continuous measure of maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy was more sensitive than FASD diagnosis and that the effect on cortical thickness was most evident in relation to a measure of maternal binge drinking.
authors.affiliation: MRC/UCT Medical Imaging Research Unit Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences.
authors.forename: Frances C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Narr
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: Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences 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: Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences 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: MRC/UCT Medical Imaging Research Unit Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences.
authors.forename: Ernesta M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Meintjes
mesh_terms: D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000254:growth & development*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007360:Intelligence; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: IQ; cortical thickness; development; fetal alcohol spectrum disorders; fetal alcohol syndrome