Two-year cortical trajectories are abnormal in children and adolescents with prenatal alcohol exposure

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Timothy J. Hendrickson, University of Minnesota; Bryon A. Mueller, University of Minnesota; Elizabeth R. Sowell, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles; Sarah N. Mattson, San Diego State University; Claire Coles, Emory University; Julie A Kable, Emory University; Julie A. Jones, University of California at San Diego; Christopher J. Boys, University of Minnesota; Susanne Lee, University of Minnesota; Kelvin O. Lim, University of Minnesota; Edward P. Riley, San Diego State University; Jeffrey R. Wozniak, University of Minnesota
• Language: English
• Date: 2018-04-01
• Publisher: Elsevier: Creative Commons Licenses
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2018 The Authors
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2018.02.008
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
• ISSN: 1878-9293
• Volume: 30
• Start Page: 123
• End Page: 133
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was performed in conjunction with the Collaborative Initiative on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (CIFASD), which is funded by grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Additional information about CIFASD can be found at www.cifasd.org; This study was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA): (U01AA017122 [PI: ERS], U01AA14834 [PI: SNM], U01AA026102 [PI: JRW], U24AA014811 [EPR], U24AA014815 [PI: KLJ], U24AA014818 [PI: Barnett]), and the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute.
• Keywords: Neuropsychology; SPECTRUM DISORDERS; Pediatric; VOLUME REDUCTIONS; LONGITUDINAL MRI; SURFACE-AREA; Psychology; Neurosciences; Psychology, Developmental; Cerebral cortex; Longitudinal MRI; THICKNESS; Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder; CEREBRAL-CORTEX; Social Sciences; GYRIFICATION; CHILDHOOD; Neurosciences & Neurology; BRAIN-DEVELOPMENT; FACIAL DYSMORPHOLOGY; Science & Technology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery

Abstract

Cortical abnormalities in prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) are known, including in gyrification (LGI), thickness (CT), volume (CV), and surface area (CS). This study provides longitudinal and developmental context to the PAE cortical development literature. Experimental design: Included: 58 children with PAE and 52 controls, ages 6–17 at enrollment, from four Collaborative Initiative on FASD (CIFASD) sites. Participants underwent a formal evaluation of physical anomalies and dysmorphic facial features associated with PAE. MRI data were collected on three platforms (Siemens, GE, and Philips) at four sites. Scans were spaced two years apart. Change in LGI, CT, CS, and CV were examined. Principal observations: Several significant regional age-by-diagnosis linear and quadratic interaction effects in LGI, CT, and CV were found, indicating atypical developmental trajectories in PAE. No significant correlations were observed between cortical measures and IQ. Conclusions: Regional differences were seen longitudinally in CT, CV, and LGI in those with PAE. The findings represent important insights into developmental trajectories and may have implications for the timing of assessments and interventions in this population. It is noteworthy that cortical metrics did not correlate with IQ, suggesting that more specific aspects of cognitive development may need to be explored to provide further context.