Journal article

Associations between low-moderate prenatal alcohol exposure and brain development in childhood

DK Thompson, CE Kelly, T Dhollander, E Muggli, S Hearps, S Lewis, TNN Nguyen, A Spittle, EJ Elliott, A Penington, J Halliday, PJ Anderson

Neuroimage Clinical | Published : 2024

Abstract

Background: The effects of low-moderate prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) on brain development have been infrequently studied. Aim: To compare cortical and white matter structure between children aged 6 to 8 years with low-moderate PAE in trimester 1 only, low-moderate PAE throughout gestation, or no PAE. Methods: Women reported quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption before and during pregnancy. Magnetic resonance imaging was undertaken for 143 children aged 6 to 8 years with PAE during trimester 1 only (n = 44), PAE throughout gestation (n = 58), and no PAE (n = 41). T1-weighted images were processed using FreeSurfer, obtaining brain volume, area, and thickness of 34 cortical regions p..

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Grants

Awarded by Murdoch Children's Research Institute


Funding Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) [Project Grant 1446635; Centre of Research Excellence in Newborn Medicine 1153176; Career Development Fellowship APP1160003 to DT and APP1159533 to AS; Investigator Grant APP1176077 to PA; Practitioner Fellowship GNT1021480 to EE] ; a Medical Research Futures Fund Next Generation Fellowship [MRF1135959 to EE] ; an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship and Monash University Graduate Excellence Scholarship to CK; the Murdoch Children's Research Institute; the Royal Children's Hospital Foundation; the Department of Paediatrics at The University of Melbourne; and the Victorian Government's Operational Infrastructure Support Program.