Cited by 164Prenatal Substance Exposure EffectsFetal and Pediatric Neurological DisordersBirth, Development, and Health

A Longitudinal Study of the Long-Term Consequences of Drinking during Pregnancy: Heavy In Utero Alcohol Exposure Disrupts the Normal Processes of Brain Development

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Lebel, Catherine, Mattson, Sarah N., Riley, Edward P., Jones, Kenneth L., Adnams, Colleen M., May, Philip A., Bookheimer, Susan Y., O'Connor, Mary J. +4 more·2012·The Journal of Neuroscience

Abstract

Exposure to alcohol in utero can cause birth defects, including face and brain abnormalities, and is the most common preventable cause of intellectual disabilities. Here we use structural magnetic resonance imaging to measure cortical volume change longitudinally in a cohort of human children and youth with prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) and a group of unexposed control subjects, demonstrating that the normal processes of brain maturation are disrupted in individuals whose mothers drank heavily during pregnancy. Trajectories of cortical volume change within children and youth with PAE differed from those of unexposed control subjects in posterior brain regions, particularly in the parietal cortex. In these areas, control children appear to show a particularly plastic cortex with a prolonged pattern of cortical volume increases followed by equally vigorous volume loss during adolescence, while the alcohol-exposed participants showed primarily volume loss, demonstrating decreased plasticity. Furthermore, smaller volume changes between scans were associated with lower intelligence and worse facial morphology in both groups, and were related to the amount of PAE during each trimester of pregnancy in the exposed group. This demonstrates that measures of IQ and facial dysmorphology predict, to some degree, the structural brain development that occurs in subsequent years. These results are encouraging in that interventions aimed at altering “experience” over time may improve brain trajectories in individuals with heavy PAE and possibly other neurodevelopmental disorders.

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Crossref · 10.1523/jneurosci.1161-12.2012

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  • Ethanol consumption during pregnancy can trigger multiple forms of neurodevelopmental damage, including fetal alcohol syndrome in cases of heavy drinking.

    “Ethanol consumption during pregnancy can trigger multiple forms of neurodevelopmental damage, including fetal alcohol syndrome in cases of heavy drinking [130, 140, 141].”

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Authors
Lebel, C., Mattson, S. N., Riley, E. P., Jones, K. L., Adnams, C. M., May, P. A., Bookheimer, S. Y., O'Connor, M. J., Narr, K. L., Kan, E., Abaryan, Z., & Sowell, E. R.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Los Angeles (US)
  • San Diego State University (US)
  • University of California San Diego (US)
  • University of Cape Town (ZA)
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
  • University of Southern California (US)
Venue
The Journal of Neuroscience
Published
2012-10-31
Volume
32
Issue
44
Pages
15243-15251
ISSN
  • 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
  • 1529-2401
OpenAlex
W2076069481
Cited by
164
References
42
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 13
FWCI
14.06
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) (submittedVersion)
  • UNC Libraries
Funders
  • March of Dimes Foundation (6-FY2008-50)
  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research
  • National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (U01-AA11685, R01 AA15134, AA014834, U01AA017122, R01AA015134, AA15134, U01AA011685, U24AA014811, U01AA014834)
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA017830, R01 DA 017831)
  • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD053893)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Prenatal Substance Exposure Effects
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Fetal and Pediatric Neurological Disorders
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Birth, Development, and Health
Keywords
prenatal alcohol exposure, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, brain maturation, cortical plasticity, parietal cortex, facial dysmorphism, intelligence, adolescent brain development, neurodevelopmental disorders
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Aging, Alcohol Drinking, Brain, Cerebral Cortex, Child, Child Behavior, Child, Preschool, Cognition, Ethnicity, Facial Asymmetry, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Intelligence Tests, Longitudinal Studies, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Neuropsychological Tests, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Trimesters, Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects, Sex Characteristics, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

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