TY - JOUR
T1 - Neural correlates of verbal memory in youth with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure
AU - the CIFASD
AU - Gross, Lauren A.
AU - Moore, Eileen M.
AU - Wozniak, Jeffrey R.
AU - Coles, Claire D.
AU - Kable, Julie A.
AU - Sowell, Elizabeth R.
AU - Jones, Kenneth L.
AU - Riley, Edward P.
AU - Mattson, Sarah N.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.
PY - 2018/6/1
Y1 - 2018/6/1
N2 - Prenatal alcohol exposure can impact both brain development and neurobehavioral function, including verbal learning and recall, although the relation between verbal recall and brain structure in this population has not been examined fully. We aimed to determine the structural neural correlates of verbal learning and recall in youth with histories of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure using a region of interest (ROI) approach. As part of an ongoing multisite project, subjects (age 10–16 years) with prenatal alcohol exposure (AE, n = 81) and controls (CON, n = 81) were tested using the CVLT-C and measures of cortical volume, surface area, and thickness as well as hippocampal volume were derived from MRI. Group differences in brain and memory indices were tested with ANOVA. Multiple regression analyses tested whether brain ROIs significantly predicted memory performance. The AE group had lower scores than the CON group on all CVLT-C variables (ps ≤ .001) and volume and surface area (ps < .025), although results varied by ROI. No group differences in cortical thickness were found. The relations between cortical structure and memory performance differed between group among some ROIs, particularly those in the frontal cortex, generally with smaller surface area and/or thinner cortex predicting better performance in CON but worse performance in AE. Cortical surface area appears to be the most sensitive index to the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure, while cortical thickness appears to be the least sensitive. These findings also indicate that the neural correlates of verbal memory are altered in youth with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure compared to controls.
AB - Prenatal alcohol exposure can impact both brain development and neurobehavioral function, including verbal learning and recall, although the relation between verbal recall and brain structure in this population has not been examined fully. We aimed to determine the structural neural correlates of verbal learning and recall in youth with histories of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure using a region of interest (ROI) approach. As part of an ongoing multisite project, subjects (age 10–16 years) with prenatal alcohol exposure (AE, n = 81) and controls (CON, n = 81) were tested using the CVLT-C and measures of cortical volume, surface area, and thickness as well as hippocampal volume were derived from MRI. Group differences in brain and memory indices were tested with ANOVA. Multiple regression analyses tested whether brain ROIs significantly predicted memory performance. The AE group had lower scores than the CON group on all CVLT-C variables (ps ≤ .001) and volume and surface area (ps < .025), although results varied by ROI. No group differences in cortical thickness were found. The relations between cortical structure and memory performance differed between group among some ROIs, particularly those in the frontal cortex, generally with smaller surface area and/or thinner cortex predicting better performance in CON but worse performance in AE. Cortical surface area appears to be the most sensitive index to the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure, while cortical thickness appears to be the least sensitive. These findings also indicate that the neural correlates of verbal memory are altered in youth with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure compared to controls.
KW - Brain
KW - Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD)
KW - Memory
KW - Neurobehavioral profile
KW - Prenatal alcohol exposure
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U2 - 10.1007/s11682-017-9739-2
DO - 10.1007/s11682-017-9739-2
M3 - Article
C2 - 28656347
AN - SCOPUS:85021280781
SN - 1931-7557
VL - 12
SP - 806
EP - 822
JO - Brain Imaging and Behavior
JF - Brain Imaging and Behavior
IS - 3
ER -