Central nervous system (CNS) development and maturation require a carefully patterned sequence of events and processes more complex and extending over a longer period than that of any other organ system. Animal work and human imaging studies have demonstrated that in utero exposure to alcohol alters brain morphology and neurocircuitry in several brain systems and their white matter pathways. This study will acquire structural, high resolution diffusion tensor (DTI) and resting BOLD imaging data on a group of 2-year-old alcohol exposed and non-exposed children (n=50 per group). These infants include a well characterized subsample of children enrolled in a Gates Foundation project, the Drakenstein Child Health Lung Study who have already been scanned as neonates using non-federal sources awarded to the PI. Leveraging the infrastructure of this large population study, the current proposal addresses novel hypotheses and integrates sophisticated technologies together with functional (developmental and behavioral) outcomes. The primary deliverable in this project will be a demonstration of how non-invasive neuroimaging technology may identify FASD-related brain abnormalities before symptoms of FASD are diagnosed. The proposed study will also monitor longitudinal effects of alcohol-exposure on the developing brain in children from birth through early childhood, which have not been previously addressed across this early developmental period in humans. This project is an early step towards forming an effective strategy to detect and identify targets for ameliorating interventions for the devastatin long-term effects of alcohol exposure on the brain development in very young children
Understanding the early neurobiological consequences of prenatal alcohol exposure is a fundamental first step for determining when and how to best intervene to improve developmental and functional outcomes of affected children. Prenatal alcohol exposure is the leading preventable cause of intellectual disability and the prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders remains unacceptably high globally. Thus, while prevention is critical, developing intervention strategies in the early years when brain plasticity is thought to be highest should remain a priority.
| Donald, Kirsten A; Hoogenhout, Michelle; du Plooy, Christopher P et al. (2018) Drakenstein Child Health Study (DCHS): investigating determinants of early child development and cognition. BMJ Paediatr Open 2:e000282 |
