The impact of micronutrient supplementation in alcohol-exposed pregnancies on information processing skills in Ukrainian infants.
The potential of micronutrients to ameliorate the impact of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) was explored in a clinical trial conducted in Ukraine. Cardiac orienting responses (ORs) during a habituation/dishabituation learning paradigm were obtained from 6 to 12 month-olds to assess neurophysiological encoding and memory. Women who differed in prenatal alcohol use were recruited during pregnancy and assigned to a group (No study-provided supplements, multivitamin/mineral supplement, or multivitamin/mineral supplement plus choline supplement). Heart rate was collected for 30 s prior to stimulus onset and 12 s post-stimulus onset. Difference values (∆HR) for the first 3 trials of each condition were aggregated for analysis. Gestational blood samples were collected to assess maternal nutritional status and changes as a function of the intervention. Choline supplementation resulted in a greater ∆HR on the visual habituation trials for all infants and for the infants with no PAE on the dishabituation trials. The latency of the response was reduced in both conditions for all infants whose mothers received choline supplementation. Change in gestational choline level was positively related to ∆HR during habituation trials and levels of one choline metabolite, dimethylglycine (DMG), predicted ∆HR during habituation trials and latency of responses. A trend was found between DMG and ∆HR on the dishabituation trials and latency of the response. Supplementation did not affect ORs to auditory stimuli. Choline supplementation when administered together with routinely recommended multivitamin/mineral prenatal supplements during pregnancy may provide a beneficial impact to basic learning mechanisms involved in encoding and memory of environmental events in alcohol-exposed pregnancies as well as non- or low alcohol-exposed pregnancies. Changes in maternal nutrient status suggested that one mechanism by which choline supplementation may positively impact brain development is through prevention of fetal alcohol-related depletion of DMG, a metabolic nutrient that can protect against overproduction of glycine, during critical periods of neurogenesis.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Emory University School of Medicine, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, USA. Electronic address: jkabl01@emory.edu.
J A
JA
Kable
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Emory University School of Medicine, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, USA.
C D
CD
Coles
Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, USA.
C L
CL
Keen
Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, USA.
J Y
JY
Uriu-Adams
Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, USA.
K L
KL
Jones
OMNI-Net for Children International Charitable Fund, Rivne Regional Medical Diagnostic Center, Rivne Province, Ukraine.
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L
Yevtushok
OMNI-Net for Children International Charitable Fund, Rivne Regional Medical Diagnostic Center, Rivne Province, Ukraine.
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Y
Kulikovsky
Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, USA; Department of Medical Genetics, University of South Alabama, USA.
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W
Wertelecki
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Western Human Nutrition Research Center, Davis, CA, USA.
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TL
Pedersen
Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, USA; Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, USA.
C D
CD
Chambers
D000328:Adult; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002794:Choline / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007858:Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000187:drug effects*; D018977:Micronutrients; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology*; D012521:Sarcosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014455:Ukraine
D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D018977:Micronutrients; D000431:Ethanol; C025138:dimethylglycine; D002794:Choline; D012521:Sarcosine
Cardiac orienting; Choline; Infants; Micronutrient supplementation; Prenatal alcohol