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Localized reductions in resting-state functional connectivity in children with prenatal alcohol exposure
Jia Fan1,2, Paul A Taylor1,2,3,4, Sandra W Jacobson2,5,6
1MRC/UCT Medical Imaging Research Unit, Division of Biomedical Engineering, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Insights
Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) show reduced brain connectivity in key networks. These functional connectivity deficits, observed using resting-state fMRI, correlate with prenatal alcohol exposure levels.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are characterized by cognitive impairments, potentially with physical anomalies.
- Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) is effective for studying brain networks in young or low-functioning individuals.
- Independent component analysis (ICA) identifies intrinsic brain networks (RSNs) linked to cognitive functions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate resting-state functional connectivity within RSNs in children with FASD.
- To explore dose-dependent effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on brain network connectivity.
- This is the first study to examine RSNs in FASD using rs-fMRI.
Main Methods:
- Rs-fMRI scans were acquired from 38 children with FASD (FAS/PFAS and heavily exposed) and 19 controls.
- Independent component analysis (ICA) was used to identify nine resting-state networks.
- Voxelwise group comparisons were performed to analyze functional connectivity differences.
Main Results:
- Children with FAS/PFAS exhibited reduced functional connectivity in five networks: anterior default mode, salience, ventral and dorsal attention, and executive control.
- The heavily exposed group showed reduced connectivity in the anterior default mode, salience, and ventral attention networks.
- Connectivity deficits in gray matter were associated with underlying white matter tract alterations.
Conclusions:
- Prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with widespread disruptions in intrinsic brain functional connectivity.
- These findings highlight the impact of alcohol on the developing brain's functional architecture.
- The study suggests a dose-dependent relationship between alcohol exposure and functional connectivity deficits in children.
Abstract:
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are characterized by impairment in cognitive function that may or may not be accompanied by craniofacial anomalies, microcephaly, and/or growth retardation. Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI), which examines the low-frequency component of the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal in the absence of an explicit task, provides an efficient and powerful mechanism for studying functional brain networks even in low-functioning and young subjects. Studies using independent component analysis (ICA) have identified a set of resting-state networks (RSNs) that have been linked to distinct domains of cognitive and perceptual function, which are believed to reflect the intrinsic functional architecture of the brain. This study is the first to examine resting-state functional connectivity within these RSNs in FASD. Rs-fMRI scans were performed on 38 children with FASD (19 with either full fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) or partial FAS (PFAS), 19 nonsyndromal heavily exposed (HE)), and 19 controls, mean age 11.3 ± 0.9 years, from the Cape Town Longitudinal Cohort. Nine resting-state networks were generated by ICA. Voxelwise group comparison between a combined FAS/PFAS group and controls revealed localized dose-dependent functional connectivity reductions in five regions in separate networks: anterior default mode, salience, ventral and dorsal attention, and R executive control. The former three also showed lower connectivity in the HE group. Gray matter connectivity deficits in four of the five networks appear to be related to deficits in white matter tracts that provide intra-RSN connections. Hum Brain Mapp 38:5217-5233, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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