This K01 application will provide specialized training in the skills necessary to study changes in brain function resulting from prenatal exposure to alcohol. Although research has broadly characterized the neuropsychological deficits associated with prenatal alcohol, a greater understanding of the underlying mechanisms, as well as the specificity of cognitive deficits, is needed. The proposed research provides a hypothesis driven approach for identifying functional brain alterations associated with prenatal alcohol exposure. This award will enable the applicant to establish a research career focused on studying the neural substrates of cognitive development in individuals with prenatal alcohol exposure. The applicant will obtain additional training in: 1) the neural circuitry subserving cognitive behavior and its development, 2) experimental design, implementation, and quantitative methods of neuroimaging studies, and 3) the interactions between biology and cognition that are related to prenatal alcohol exposure. The applicant will examine the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on cognitive and brain function using tasks that probe attention, voluntary response suppression, and working memory. These specific tasks were chosen because previous studies have demonstrated deficits in these behaviors in children prenatally exposed to alcohol. In addition, these basic cognitive functions are crucial for more complex cognitive behaviors such as executive functions, which are affected in adolescents with prenatal alcohol exposure. The proposed research will provide crucial information for the identification, intervention, and rehabilitation of individuals exposed to alcohol during pregnancy.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Type
Research Scientist Development Award - Research & Training (K01)
Project #
5K01AA013981-04
Application #
6941744
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAA1-DD (20))
Program Officer
Ren, Zhaoxia
Project Start
2002-09-30
Project End
2007-08-31
Budget Start
2005-09-01
Budget End
2006-08-31
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2005
Total Cost
$101,349
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Pittsburgh
Department
Psychiatry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
004514360
City
Pittsburgh
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
15213
Willford, Jennifer; Day, Richard; Aizenstein, Howard et al. (2010) Caudate asymmetry: a neurobiological marker of moderate prenatal alcohol exposure in young adults. Neurotoxicol Teratol 32:589-94