Decreased Cerebral Blood Flow in Young Children With Prenatal Alcohol Exposure

Background

Alcohol exposure during pregnancy can hinder neurodevelopment, causing a range of behavioral and neurological deficits, including structural and functional brain alterations. Moreover, prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is associated with cerebral blood flow (CBF) abnormalities in preclinical models. However, it remains unclear to what extent CBF is affected by PAE in humans. In this study, we investigated CBF in young children with PAE.

Methods

A total of 171 scans collected from 99 children (35 children [51 scans] with PAE) between the ages of 3 to 8 years were examined. Children underwent a magnetic resonance imaging scan to acquire arterial spin labeling images to quantify CBF. CBF maps were segmented into 110 gray matter regions, and linear mixed models were used to test CBF differences between children with PAE and unexposed children in each region.

Results

Children with PAE had decreased CBF compared with unexposed control children, with the largest effects seen in subcortical and medial frontal regions.

Conclusions

CBF is negatively altered in children with PAE. CBF reductions may alter nutrient and oxygen delivery to the brain, resulting in impaired neurodevelopment and helping to explain functional deficits seen in PAE. The largest effects were seen in regions associated with cognitive and behavioral functions that are commonly impaired in individuals with PAE. Our findings contribute additional insight into the adverse effects of PAE on neurodevelopment and lay the groundwork for future studies to investigate CBF effects and how they relate to behavior.