title: Evidence for spared attention to faces in 7-month-old infants after prenatal exposure to antiepileptic drugs.
abstract: Prenatal antiepileptic drug (AED) exposure is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment and autism spectrum disorders detected mainly at the age of two to six years. We examined whether the developmental aberrations associated with prenatal AED exposure could be detected already in infancy and whether effects on visual attention can be observed at this early age.
  
  
  
  We compared a prospective cohort of infants with in utero exposure to AED (n=56) with infants without drug exposures (n=62). The assessments performed at the age of seven months included standardized neurodevelopmental scores (Griffiths Mental Developmental Scale and Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination) as well as a novel eye-tracking-based test for visual attention and orienting to faces. Background information included prospective collection of AED exposure data, pregnancy outcome, neuropsychological evaluation of the mothers, and information on maternal epilepsy type.
  
  
  
  Carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine, and valproate, but not lamotrigine or levetiracetam, were associated with impaired early language abilities at the age of seven months. The general speed of visuospatial orienting or attentional bias for faces measured by eye-tracker-based tests did not differ between AED-exposed and control infants.
  
  
  
  Our findings support the idea that prenatal AED exposure may impair verbal abilities, and this effect may be detected already in infancy. In contrast, the early development of attention to faces was spared after in utero AED exposure.
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Finland. Electronic address: mari.videman@hus.fi.
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Videman
authors.affiliation: Department of Children's Clinical Neurophysiology, HUS Medical Imaging Center and Children's Hospital, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Susanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stjerna
authors.affiliation: Clinical Neurosciences, Neurology, University of Helsinki and Hyvinkää Hospital, Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District, Finland.
authors.forename: Reina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roivainen
authors.affiliation: Clinical Neurosciences, Head and Neck Center, Neuropsychology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Finland.
authors.forename: Taina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nybo
authors.affiliation: Department of Children's Clinical Neurophysiology, HUS Medical Imaging Center and Children's Hospital, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Sampsa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vanhatalo
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Finland.
authors.forename: Eija
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gaily
authors.affiliation: Infant Cognition Laboratory, Center for Child Health Research, School of Medicine, University of Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Jukka M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Leppänen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000139:chemically induced*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000066499:Facial Recognition / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced*; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000139:chemically induced*; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants
keywords: AED; Cognition; Epilepsy; Eye-tracking; Infant; Pregnancy