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Parietal dysfunction during number processing in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

K J Woods1, E M Meintjes1, C D Molteno2

  • 1MRC/UCT Medical Imaging Research Unit, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa ; Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.

Neuroimage. Clinical
|July 23, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Prenatal alcohol exposure impairs parietal lobe function in children, affecting number processing. Despite similar performance, alcohol-exposed children show reduced brain activation in key number processing regions.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Prenatal alcohol exposure is linked to number processing deficits.
  • Structural impairments in the parietal lobe are known in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD).
  • Functional brain activity in the parietal lobe during number tasks remains understudied in FASD.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate functional brain activation differences in parietal regions during number processing in children with prenatal alcohol exposure.
  • To examine the relationship between the degree of prenatal alcohol exposure and brain activity.
  • To explore compensatory mechanisms in children diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and partial fetal alcohol syndrome (pFAS).

Main Methods:

  • Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to study 49 children.
  • Participants completed tasks involving simple addition and magnitude comparison.
  • Activation in five key parietal regions associated with number processing was analyzed.

Main Results:

  • Greater prenatal alcohol exposure correlated with reduced activation in the right horizontal intraparietal sulcus during both tasks.
  • This region is critical for quantity representation and manipulation.
  • Children with FAS/pFAS showed increased angular gyrus activation during magnitude comparison, suggesting compensation.

Conclusions:

  • Prenatal alcohol exposure impacts functional brain activity in parietal regions essential for number processing.
  • Despite behavioral similarities, underlying neural differences exist.
  • Compensatory mechanisms may be employed by children with FAS/pFAS to mitigate deficits.

Keywords:
AA, absolute alcoholADHD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorderANOVA, analysis of varianceARND, alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorderDD, developmental dyscalculiaEA, exact additionEA_CTL, control block in the exact addition taskFAS, fetal alcohol syndromeFASD, fetal alcohol spectrum disordersFetal alcohol spectrum disordersFetal alcohol syndromeHE, heavily exposedIPS, intraparietal sulcusLSD, least-squares differenceMagnitude comparisonNumber processingPFAS, partial fetal alcohol syndromePJ, proximity judgmentPJ_CTL, control block in the proximity judgment taskPSPL, posterior superior parietal lobuleParietalPrenatal alcohol exposureROI, region of interestTS, Turner syndromeUCT, University of Cape TownVBM, voxel-based morphometryWISC-III, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Third EditionfMRI

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