Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 28, 2026
Construction of Vapor Chambers Used to Expose Mice to Alcohol During the Equivalent of all Three Trimesters of Human Development
Published on: July 13, 2014
Interhemispheric Functional Brain Connectivity in Neonates with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure: Preliminary Findings
Kirsten A Donald1, Jonathan C Ipser2, Fleur M Howells2
1Division of Developmental Paediatrics (KAD), Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Insights
Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) in newborns is linked to increased connectivity within motor and sensory brain networks. This early disruption may impact the development of motor skills and brain function in infants.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Pediatric Neurology
Background:
- Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is associated with white matter abnormalities in children.
- Previous studies indicate altered motor network connectivity in school-aged children with PAE.
- The impact of PAE on early-infancy intrinsic brain connectivity remains unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on intrinsic functional brain connectivity in newborn infants.
- To examine differences in sensorimotor network connectivity between alcohol-exposed and control infants.
Main Methods:
- Functional imaging was performed on 60 infants (13 PAE, 14 control) aged 2-4 weeks during natural sleep.
- Multivariate and seed-based analyses assessed connectivity within and between sensorimotor networks.
- The Dubowitz neurological assessment was administered.
Main Results:
- Prenatal alcohol exposure showed significant increases in connectivity between somatosensory, motor, brainstem/thalamic, and striatal networks.
- No significant reductions in interhemispheric connectivity of motor and somatosensory networks were found.
Conclusions:
- Findings suggest PAE may disrupt temporal coherence in intrinsic networks crucial for motor function in newborns.
- Longitudinal studies are needed to understand the timing and distribution of connectivity disturbances in evolving resting-state networks due to in utero alcohol exposure.
Background:
Children exposed to alcohol in utero demonstrate reduced white matter microstructural integrity. While early evidence suggests altered functional brain connectivity in the lateralization of motor networks in school-age children with prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE), the specific effects of alcohol exposure on the establishment of intrinsic connectivity in early infancy have not been explored.
Methods:
Sixty subjects received functional imaging at 2 to 4 weeks of age for 6 to 8 minutes during quiet natural sleep. Thirteen alcohol-exposed (PAE) and 14 age-matched control (CTRL) participants with usable data were included in a multivariate model of connectivity between sensorimotor intrinsic functional connectivity networks. Seed-based analyses of group differences in interhemispheric connectivity of intrinsic motor networks were also conducted. The Dubowitz neurological assessment was performed at the imaging visit.
Results:
Alcohol exposure was associated with significant increases in connectivity between somatosensory, motor networks, brainstem/thalamic, and striatal intrinsic networks. Reductions in interhemispheric connectivity of motor and somatosensory networks did not reach significance.
Conclusions:
Although results are preliminary, findings suggest PAE may disrupt the temporal coherence in blood oxygenation utilization in intrinsic networks underlying motor performance in newborn infants. Studies that employ longitudinal designs to investigate the effects of in utero alcohol exposure on the evolving resting-state networks will be key in establishing the distribution and timing of connectivity disturbances already described in older children.
