Preeti Kar, Jess E. Reynolds, Melody N. Grohs, W. Ben Gibbard, Carly McMorris, Christina Tortorelli, Catherine Lebel
{"title":"White matter alterations in young children with prenatal alcohol exposure","authors":"Preeti Kar, Jess E. Reynolds, Melody N. Grohs, W. Ben Gibbard, Carly McMorris, Christina Tortorelli, Catherine Lebel","doi":"10.1002/dneu.22821","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) can lead to cognitive, behavioural, and social–emotional challenges. Previous neuroimaging research has identified structural brain alterations in newborns, older children, adolescents, and adults with PAE; however, little is known about brain structure in young children. Extensive brain development occurs during early childhood; therefore, understanding the neurological profiles of young children with PAE is critical for early identification and effective intervention. We studied 54 children (5.21 ± 1.11 years; 27 males) with confirmed PAE (94% also had other prenatal exposures, 74% had adverse postnatal experiences) compared with 54 age- and sex-matched children without PAE. Children underwent diffusion tensor imaging between 2 and 7 years of age. Mean fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) were obtained for 10 major white matter tracts. Univariate analyses of covariance were used to test group differences (PAE vs. control) controlling for age and sex. The PAE group had higher FA in the genu of the corpus callosum and lower MD in the bilateral uncinate fasciculus. The PAE group also had lower tract volume in the corpus callosum, the bilateral inferior fronto-occipital fasciculi, and the right superior longitudinal fasciculus. Our findings align with studies of newborns with PAE reporting lower diffusivity, but contrast those in older populations with PAE, which consistently report lower FA and higher MD. Further research is needed to understand trajectories of white matter development and how our results of higher FA/lower MD in young children connect with lower FA/higher MD observed at older ages.</p>","PeriodicalId":11300,"journal":{"name":"Developmental Neurobiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.7000,"publicationDate":"2021-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1002/dneu.22821","citationCount":"14","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Developmental Neurobiology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/dneu.22821","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 14
Abstract
Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) can lead to cognitive, behavioural, and social–emotional challenges. Previous neuroimaging research has identified structural brain alterations in newborns, older children, adolescents, and adults with PAE; however, little is known about brain structure in young children. Extensive brain development occurs during early childhood; therefore, understanding the neurological profiles of young children with PAE is critical for early identification and effective intervention. We studied 54 children (5.21 ± 1.11 years; 27 males) with confirmed PAE (94% also had other prenatal exposures, 74% had adverse postnatal experiences) compared with 54 age- and sex-matched children without PAE. Children underwent diffusion tensor imaging between 2 and 7 years of age. Mean fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) were obtained for 10 major white matter tracts. Univariate analyses of covariance were used to test group differences (PAE vs. control) controlling for age and sex. The PAE group had higher FA in the genu of the corpus callosum and lower MD in the bilateral uncinate fasciculus. The PAE group also had lower tract volume in the corpus callosum, the bilateral inferior fronto-occipital fasciculi, and the right superior longitudinal fasciculus. Our findings align with studies of newborns with PAE reporting lower diffusivity, but contrast those in older populations with PAE, which consistently report lower FA and higher MD. Further research is needed to understand trajectories of white matter development and how our results of higher FA/lower MD in young children connect with lower FA/higher MD observed at older ages.
产前酒精暴露(PAE)会导致认知、行为和社会情感方面的挑战。先前的神经影像学研究已经确定了新生儿、大龄儿童、青少年和成人PAE患者的大脑结构改变;然而,人们对幼儿的大脑结构知之甚少。广泛的大脑发育发生在儿童早期;因此,了解PAE患儿的神经系统特征对于早期识别和有效干预至关重要。我们研究了54例儿童(5.21±1.11岁;27名男性)确诊PAE(94%还有其他产前暴露,74%有不良的产后经历),与54名年龄和性别匹配的无PAE儿童相比。2至7岁的儿童接受弥散张量成像。获得10个主要白质束的平均分数各向异性(FA)和平均扩散率(MD)。采用单变量协方差分析来检验各组差异(PAE vs. control),控制年龄和性别。PAE组胼胝体膝FA增高,双侧钩状束MD降低。PAE组胼胝体、双侧额枕下束和右侧上纵束的束体积也较低。我们的研究结果与报告较低弥散度的新生儿PAE的研究结果一致,但与报告较低FA和较高MD的老年PAE人群的研究结果相反。需要进一步的研究来了解白质发育的轨迹,以及幼儿较高FA/较低MD与老年观察到的较低FA/较高MD之间的关系。
期刊介绍:
Developmental Neurobiology (previously the Journal of Neurobiology ) publishes original research articles on development, regeneration, repair and plasticity of the nervous system and on the ontogeny of behavior. High quality contributions in these areas are solicited, with an emphasis on experimental as opposed to purely descriptive work. The Journal also will consider manuscripts reporting novel approaches and techniques for the study of the development of the nervous system as well as occasional special issues on topics of significant current interest. We welcome suggestions on possible topics from our readers.