产前酒精暴露(PAE)与儿童期触觉刺激的半球间传递受损以及call体(CC)的结构变化有关。在这项研究中,我们使用手指定位任务(FLT)来调查半球间转移缺陷是否在青春期持续存在;PAE对感知推理的影响,工作记忆,和执行功能是由半球间信息传递的缺陷介导的;以及儿童时期的CC大小是否可以预测青春期的FLT表现。
参与者,16至17岁,来自开普敦纵向队列,他们的母亲在怀孕期间被招募,并使用时间表随访方法就他们的酒精使用进行了采访。胎儿酒精综合症(FAS)和部分FAS(PFAS)的诊断由两名专家畸形学家确定;非综合征暴露儿童被指定为重度暴露(HE);那些由戒酒者或轻度饮酒者出生的人,作为控制。对74名参与者进行了FLT(12名FAS,16PFAS,14他和32个对照)。35名参与者可获得9至12岁的CC大小(7名FAS,13PFAS,5HE和10对照)。
尽管在FAS中PAE的程度相似,PFAS,和他的团体,在刺激一根手指的情况下,只有患有FAS的青少年比对照组表现出更多的转移相关错误.FLT表现介导了FAS对感知推理和执行功能的影响。在可获得儿童期神经影像学数据的子样本中,青少年与PAE的CC量较小,单指/手隐藏条件下与转移相关的错误较多,这表明以前在儿童期看到的CC损伤在青春期继续影响功能。
这项研究提供了FAS青少年半球间信息传递受损的证据,而那些患有PFAS或重度暴露的非综合征个体显然可以幸免。这是第一个表明PAE对认知功能重要方面的影响部分是由半球间信息传递的缺陷介导的。
Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) has been associated with compromised interhemispheric transfer of tactile stimuli in childhood and structural changes to the corpus callosum (CC). In this study, we used a finger localization task (FLT) to investigate whether interhemispheric transfer deficits persist in adolescence; whether effects of PAE on perceptual reasoning, working memory, and executive function are mediated by deficits in interhemispheric transfer of information; and whether CC size in childhood predicts FLT performance in adolescence.
Participants, aged 16 to 17 years, were from the Cape Town Longitudinal Cohort, whose mothers were recruited during pregnancy and interviewed regarding their alcohol use using the timeline follow-back method. Diagnoses of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and partial FAS (PFAS) were determined by two expert dysmorphologists; nonsyndromal exposed children were designated as heavily exposed (HE); those born to abstainers or light drinkers, as controls. The FLT was administered to 74 participants (12 FAS, 16 PFAS, 14 HE and 32 controls). CC size at age 9 to 12 years was available for 35 participants (7 FAS, 13 PFAS, 5 HE and 10 control).
Although the degree of PAE was similar in the FAS, PFAS, and HE groups, only the adolescents with FAS showed more transfer-related errors than controls in conditions in which one finger was stimulated. FLT performance mediated the effects of FAS on perceptual reasoning and executive function. In the subsample for which neuroimaging data from childhood were available, there was an association among adolescents with PAE of smaller CC volumes with more transfer-related errors on the one-finger/hand hidden condition, suggesting that CC damage previously seen in childhood continues to impact function through adolescence.
This study provides evidence of compromised interhemispheric transfer of information in adolescents with FAS, while those with PFAS or heavy exposed nonsyndromal individuals are apparently spared. It is the first to show that PAE effects on important aspects of cognitive function are partially mediated by deficits in the interhemispheric transfer of information.