1. Volume changes and brain‐behavior relationships in white matter and subcortical gray matter in children with prenatal alcohol exposure
- Author
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Gautam, Prapti, Lebel, Catherine, Narr, Katherine L, Mattson, Sarah N, May, Philip A, Adnams, Colleen M, Riley, Edward P, Jones, Kenneth L, Kan, Eric C, and Sowell, Elizabeth R
- Subjects
Biological Psychology ,Psychology ,Clinical Research ,Perinatal Period - Conditions Originating in Perinatal Period ,Neurosciences ,Substance Misuse ,Pediatric ,Behavioral and Social Science ,Alcoholism ,Alcohol Use and Health ,Conditions Affecting the Embryonic and Fetal Periods ,Brain Disorders ,Basic Behavioral and Social Science ,Mental health ,Adolescent ,Brain ,Central Nervous System Depressants ,Child ,Cognition ,Ethanol ,Female ,Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders ,Gray Matter ,Humans ,Longitudinal Studies ,Magnetic Resonance Imaging ,Male ,Neuropsychological Tests ,Organ Size ,Pregnancy ,Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects ,White Matter ,prenatal alcohol exposure ,fetal alcohol spectrum disorders ,magnetic resonance imaging ,white matter ,gray matter ,brain development ,Cognitive Sciences ,Experimental Psychology ,Biological psychology ,Cognitive and computational psychology - Abstract
Children with prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) may have cognitive, behavioral and brain abnormalities. Here, we compare rates of white matter and subcortical gray matter volume change in PAE and control children, and examine relationships between annual volume change and arithmetic ability, behavior, and executive function. Participants (n = 75 PAE/64 control; age: 7.1-15.9 years) each received two structural magnetic resonance scans, ~2 years apart. Assessments included Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV), the Child Behavior Checklist and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function. Subcortical white and gray volumes were extracted for each hemisphere. Group volume differences were tested using false discovery rate (q < 0.05). Analyses examined group-by-age interactions and group-score interactions for correlations between change in volume and raw behavioral scores. Results showed that subjects with PAE had smaller volumes than control subjects across the brain. Significant group-score interactions were found in temporal and parietal regions for WISC arithmetic scores and in frontal and parietal regions for behavioral measures. Poorer cognitive/ behavioral outcomes were associated with larger volume increases in PAE, while control subjects generally showed no significant correlations. In contrast with previous results demonstrating different trajectories of cortical volume change in PAE, our results show similar rates of subcortical volume growth in subjects with PAE and control subjects. We also demonstrate abnormal brain-behavior relationships in subjects with PAE, suggesting different use of brain resources. Our results are encouraging in that, due to the stable volume differences, there may be an extended window of opportunity for intervention in children with PAE.
- Published
- 2015