Recent studies have identified specific patterns of intellectual impairment in fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) patients, but only limited data are available on the specific deficits associated with lower level prenatal exposure to alcohol. In our recent 7.5-year follow-up evaluation of 340 Detroit children recruited to overrepresent moderate-to-heavy prenatal alcohol exposure, we have begun to identify a distinct """"""""neurobehavioral profile"""""""" associated with this exposure. This profile differs from FAS in that IQ and verbal learning appear to be spared but resembles FAS and the effects reported in the Seattle study in that deficits in focused attention, arithmetic, and working memory are particularly salient. Preliminary 7.5-year follow-up data also indicate an alcohol-related increased incidence in clinically-significant levels of childhood aggression and social problems, after control for confounders and current caregiver alcohol use. Because these effects are only partially mediated by the attentional deficits, these data suggest that, in addition to its effects on attention, prenatal alcohol may directly disrupt CNS pathways that mediate affective response and emotional regulation. We now propose to reevaluate our Detroit cohort at 12 years of age. The principal aims of this study are (1) to confirm and further refine the distinctive pattern of alcohol-related attentional deficits seen at 7.5 years and (2) to examine the relation between prenatal alcohol and socioemotional function using a new test battery focusing on social judgment, social competence, and emotionality; a clinical assessment of psychopathology; and adolescent alcohol and drug use. We will also focus on dose-response relations, threshold, pattern of pregnancy drinking associated with developmental deficit, and the importance of the observed deficits for the day-to-day function of the individual child. The data to be generated from this study have the potential to help refine the diagnosis of alcohol- related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND) and to contribute to the design of interventions specifically targeted to alcohol-exposed children.
| Suttie, Michael; Wetherill, Leah; Jacobson, Sandra W et al. (2017) Facial Curvature Detects and Explicates Ethnic Differences in Effects of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 41:1471-1483 |
| Jacobson, Sandra W; Jacobson, Joseph L (2017) Cardiac Orienting Response as an Early Indicator of Impairment in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 41:262-265 |
| Narayanan, Priya Lakshmi; Warton, Christopher; Rosella Boonzaier, Natalie et al. (2016) Improved segmentation of cerebellar structures in children. J Neurosci Methods 262:1-13 |
| Lindinger, Nadine M; Malcolm-Smith, Susan; Dodge, Neil C et al. (2016) Theory of Mind in Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 40:367-76 |
| Fan, Jia; Jacobson, Sandra W; Taylor, Paul A et al. (2016) White matter deficits mediate effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on cognitive development in childhood. Hum Brain Mapp 37:2943-58 |
| Lewis, Catherine E; Thomas, Kevin G F; Molteno, Christopher D et al. (2016) Prospective Memory Impairment in Children with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 40:969-78 |
| Carter, R Colin; Jacobson, Joseph L; Molteno, Christopher D et al. (2016) Fetal Alcohol Growth Restriction and Cognitive Impairment. Pediatrics 138: |
| Cheng, Dominic T; Jacobson, Sandra W; Jacobson, Joseph L et al. (2015) Eyeblink Classical Conditioning in Alcoholism and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Front Psychiatry 6:155 |
| Lewis, Catherine E; Thomas, Kevin G F; Dodge, Neil C et al. (2015) Verbal learning and memory impairment in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 39:724-32 |
| du Plessis, Lindie; Jacobson, Sandra W; Molteno, Christopher D et al. (2015) Neural correlates of cerebellar-mediated timing during finger tapping in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Neuroimage Clin 7:562-70 |
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