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

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 per hemisphere. Fibre density (FD), fibre cross-section (FC) and fibre density and cross-section (FDC) metrics were computed for diffusion images. Brain measures were compared between PAE groups adjusted for age and sex, then additionally for intracranial volume. Results: After adjustments, the right caudal anterior cingulate cortex volume (pFDR = 0.045) and area (pFDR = 0.008), and right cingulum tract cross-sectional area (pFWE < 0.05) were smaller in children exposed to alcohol throughout gestation compared with no PAE. Conclusion: This study reports a relationship between low-moderate PAE throughout gestation and cingulate cortex and cingulum tract alterations, suggesting a teratogenic vulnerability. Further investigation is warranted.