This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The purpose of this proposal is to obtain funding from the Neurobehavioral Research Unit (NBRU) to carry out the pilot study entitled 'The Neurobiology of Attention in Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.' The funds requested will cover the cost of performing and analyzing 80 MRIs (40 children with FAS and 40 matched controls), the materials and administration of neuropsychological assessments in the areas of attention, intelligence and executive functioning. The recruitment is estimated to take eighteen months with the analyses taking six months. This project is estimated to take two years to complete. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is one of the most common causes of preventable long-term cognitive and behavioral disability. These disabilities are hypothesized to be due in part to the direct and indirect toxic effects of ethanol on the developing central nervous system (CNS). This is a pilot study examining the neurobiology of attention in individuals with FAS-a condition that is linked to significant educational, social, and behavioral disability. Although attention problems in FAS have generated great interest in the research community, and are described in numerous articles, there are few scientific studies that have examined the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of attention in this population. This project will examine hypotheses that suggest that structures making up anterior and posterior networks of attention are developmentally damaged in children with FAS. The theoretical foundation of this argument is drawn from the vast neurobiological literature on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, which appears to overlap significantly with preliminary neuroanatomical findings in individuals with FAS. Specifically, structures in the CNS that are found reduced in size in children with ADHD are also significantly reduced in children with FAS. As yet there is little mention in the literature associating developmental alteration of these cortical and sub-cortical areas in FAS and the high prevalence of attention problems in these individuals.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 1014 publications
