Volume changes and brain‐behavior relationships in white matter and subcortical gray matter in children with prenatal alcohol exposure |
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| Authors: | Katherine L. Narr Sarah N. Mattson Philip A. May Colleen M. Adnams Edward P. Riley Kenneth L. Jones Eric C. Kan Elizabeth R. Sowell |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California;2. Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California;3. Department of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Nutrition Research Institute, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina;4. Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa;5. Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California;6. Department of Pediatrics, Developmental Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory, Keck School of Medicine, USC/Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California |
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| 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. Hum Brain Mapp 36:2318–2329, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. |
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| Keywords: | prenatal alcohol exposure fetal alcohol spectrum disorders magnetic resonance imaging white matter gray matter brain development |
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