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Published on: August 5, 2017
Spatial Navigation in Children and Young Adults with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Neil C Dodge1, Kevin G F Thomas2, Ernesta M Meintjes3
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan.
Background:
Rodent studies have consistently shown that prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) impairs performance on the Morris water maze (MWM), a test of spatial navigation. A previous study comparing boys with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) to controls found poorer performance on the virtual water maze (VWM), a human analogue of the MWM. We examined PAE effects on virtual navigation in both sexes using the VWM in a moderately exposed Detroit cohort (N = 104; mean = 19.4 year) and a heavily exposed Cape Town, South African cohort (N = 62; mean = 10.4 year).
Methods:
The task requires the participant to learn the location of a hidden platform in a virtual pool of water. The set of acquisition trials requires the participant to learn the location of the hidden platform and to return to that location repeatedly. The single-probe trial requires the participant to return to that location without knowing that the platform has been removed.
Results:
No effects of FASD diagnostic group or PAE were detected on virtual navigation in the Detroit moderately exposed cohort. By contrast, in the more heavily exposed Cape Town cohort, the FAS/partial FAS (PFAS) group took longer to locate the hidden platform during acquisition than nonsyndromal heavily exposed (HE) and control groups, an effect that persisted even after controlling for IQ. Among boys, both the FAS/PFAS and HE groups performed more poorly than controls during acquisition, and both boys and girls born to women who binge drank performed more poorly than those born to abstainers/light drinkers. Both amount and frequency of PAE were related to poorer performance during the probe trial at 10 years of age.
Conclusions:
These data demonstrate deficits in spatial navigation among heavily exposed syndromal boys and girls and in nonsyndromal exposed boys.
Insights
Prenatal alcohol exposure can impair spatial navigation skills. Heavy exposure in children led to deficits in virtual navigation tasks, particularly in those with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is a known cause of cognitive deficits.
- Rodent studies show PAE impairs spatial navigation (Morris water maze).
- Previous human studies suggest PAE affects spatial navigation in boys with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS).
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the effects of PAE on virtual navigation in both sexes.
- To compare outcomes in moderately exposed and heavily exposed cohorts.
- To investigate the relationship between PAE severity and spatial navigation deficits.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the virtual water maze (VWM), a human analogue of the MWM.
- Assessed spatial navigation in two cohorts: moderately exposed (Detroit) and heavily exposed (Cape Town).
- Included participants with varying levels of PAE and FASD diagnostic groups.
Main Results:
- No significant effects of PAE or FASD were found in the moderately exposed cohort.
- In the heavily exposed cohort, individuals with FAS/partial FAS (PFAS) showed slower acquisition of platform location.
- PAE severity (amount and frequency) correlated with poorer performance on the probe trial, especially at age 10.
Conclusions:
- Heavy PAE is associated with spatial navigation deficits in syndromal and nonsyndromal individuals.
- Spatial navigation impairments are evident in heavily exposed boys with FAS/PFAS and nonsyndromal exposed boys.
- PAE, particularly binge drinking during pregnancy, negatively impacts spatial navigation abilities in children.
