The long-term objective of this proposal is to determine if there is a unique neurobehavioral profile in children exposed to alcohol prenatally. Even though a large body literature exists on cognitive-emotional functioning in alcohol-exposed children, it is unknown if there is a signature neurobehavioral profile in children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) or other fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
Specific aims of the current investigation are: 1.) to assess cognitive-emotional functioning in children diagnosed with FASD from a community in South Africa and a number of American Indian reservations in the Northern Plains States. A core test battery designed by the NiAAA-supported Consortium of International Collaborative Research on FASD will be utilized in this international study; 2.) to test a specific statistical model of neurocognitive functioning (radex model) with the aim of further elucidating cognitive dysfunction in alcohol-affected children. The identification of a neurobehavioral profile in children with prenatal alcohol exposure will help clinicians diagnose children with FASD, specifically those alcohol-exposed children without evidence of dysmorphia. Identification of a profile of strengths and weaknesses of cognitive-emotional functioning is also essential for developing evidence-based interventions for children with FASD. Specifically, clinicians will be able to design programs that capitalize on strengths to address weaknesses in cognitive emotional functioning. The proposed research design involves a comparison of test performance of FASD children with that of typically developing children matched for age, sex, SES, and ethnicity. Potential participants in South Africa will be 150 children previously diagnosed as having FAS by our epidemiologic studies utilizing an international team of dysmorphologists. Case controls (n=150) will also be studied. The American Indian sample volunteers are from a large group of children diagnosed with FASD (n-100) through the University of New Mexico FAS Epidemiology Research and Prevention Project. Case controls will be selected from the same communities. The test battery will be comprised of tests designed to measure general cognitive ability, attention, executive functioning, language, visual perception, memory, motor skills and emotional functioning. Data gathered through the core test battery will be combined with those collected elsewhere in the international collaborative project (e.g. Russia, Finland, Italy, and the US) to create a large data base. This international collaborative project will provide a rare opportunity to researchers to answer many questions pertaining to cognitive-emotional functioning of FASD children to define a behavioral phenotype and to design evidence-based.
