Madison Long, Preeti Kar, Nils D. Forkert, Bennett A. Landman, W. Ben Gibbard, Christina Tortorelli, Carly A. McMorris, Yuankai Huo, and Catherine A. Lebel. “Sex and Age Effects on Gray Matter Volume Trajectories in Young Children with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, vol. 18, 1379959, April 2024.
Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) affects about 11% of pregnancies in North America and is the leading known cause of neurodevelopmental disabilities, such as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), which affects around 2-5% of the population. PAE has been linked to smaller gray matter volumes in individuals across different age groups. However, the specific developmental patterns in early childhood and potential sex differences have not been well studied.
This study used longitudinal T1-weighted MRI to examine gray matter volume development in young children aged 3-8 years with PAE (42 children, 84 scans) compared to unexposed children aged 2-8.5 years (127 children, 450 scans). The results showed that children with PAE had different gray matter development trajectories, with less increase and more decrease in gray matter volume compared to unexposed children. Notably, sex differences were more pronounced in the PAE group, with females showing the smallest gray matter volumes and the least change with age.
These findings suggest that children with PAE may have reduced brain plasticity or accelerated maturation, contributing to the cognitive and behavioral challenges they often face. The study also indicates that gray matter volume differences associated with PAE become more evident as children grow older, supporting previous research on older age groups.
