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Updated: Jun 29, 2025

Moderate Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Quantification of Social Behavior in Adult Rats
Published on: December 14, 2014
Associations between low-moderate prenatal alcohol exposure and brain development in childhood
Deanne K Thompson1, Claire E Kelly2, Thijs Dhollander3
1Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
Background:
The effects of low-moderate prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) on brain development have been infrequently studied.
Aim:
To compare cortical and white matter structure between children aged 6 to 8 years with low-moderate PAE in trimester 1 only, low-moderate PAE throughout gestation, or no PAE.
Methods:
Women reported quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption before and during pregnancy. Magnetic resonance imaging was undertaken for 143 children aged 6 to 8 years with PAE during trimester 1 only (n = 44), PAE throughout gestation (n = 58), and no PAE (n = 41). T1-weighted images were processed using FreeSurfer, obtaining brain volume, area, and thickness of 34 cortical regions per hemisphere. Fibre density (FD), fibre cross-section (FC) and fibre density and cross-section (FDC) metrics were computed for diffusion images. Brain measures were compared between PAE groups adjusted for age and sex, then additionally for intracranial volume.
Results:
After adjustments, the right caudal anterior cingulate cortex volume (pFDR = 0.045) and area (pFDR = 0.008), and right cingulum tract cross-sectional area (pFWE < 0.05) were smaller in children exposed to alcohol throughout gestation compared with no PAE.
Conclusion:
This study reports a relationship between low-moderate PAE throughout gestation and cingulate cortex and cingulum tract alterations, suggesting a teratogenic vulnerability. Further investigation is warranted.
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