Table 1.
Summary of studies examining relations between prenatal alcohol exposure and age on neurodevelopment.
| Study | n, PAE | n, CON | Age (years) | Study design | Site | Imaging method | Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gautam et al. (2014) | 25 | 16 | 6.2–17.6 | L | CIFASD: Los Angeles, CA | sMRI | No significant age by status interaction in white matter volume was found in any of the regions investigated |
| Gautam et al. (2015a) | 75 | 64 | 7.1–15.9 | L | CIFASD: Los Angeles, CA; San Diego, CA; Cape Town, South Africa | sMRI | Those with PAE showed a linear trajectory in right and left transverse temporal regions, while the controls showed no significant age related changes. |
| Hendrickson et al. (2018) | 58 | 52 | 6.0–17.0 | L | CIFASD: Minneapolis, MN; Los Angeles, CA ; San Diego, CA, Atlanta, GA | sMRI | The control subjects showed a more curvilinear cortical developmental trajectory, while the subjects with PAE showed closer to a linear trajectory. |
| Lebel et al. (2012) | 70 | 63 | 5.7–15.9 | L | CIFASD: Los Angeles, CA ; San Diego, CA ; Cape Town, South Africa | sMRI | For total gray matter volume, the controls had a more quadratic developmental trajectory; while the subjects with PAE showed a more linear decline, although the age by group interaction was not significant. In posterior brain regions, the controls showed more curved developmental trajectories compared to the more linear trajectories in the subjects with PAE. |
| Treit et al. (2014) | 11 | 12 | 5.7–14.4 | L | Alberta, Canada | sMRI | No significant age by group interactions were found in terms of volume. The mean cortical thickness decreased with age in the control group but not in those with PAE. Region specific analyses revealed that the differential developmental trajectories concentrated in medial frontal and parietal regions. |
| Treit et al. (2013) | 17 | 27 | 5.4–11.8 | L | Alberta, Canada | sMRI, DTI | The control group showed age related increases in total brain, white matter, globus pallidus, and amygdala volumes while those with PAE did not. MD decreased more steeply over time in the group with PAE than in the control group. |
| Gautam et al. (2015b) | 49 | 48 | 6.0–16.0 | L | CIFASD: Los Angeles, CA; San Diego, CA; Cape Town, South Africa | fMRI | Significant group by time interactions showed that the changes in activation pattern over time were different for the group with PAE as compared to controls. For the 0-back condition, the activation increased in controls from time 1 to time 2 but decreased in those with PAE. |
| Infante et al. (2015) | 30 | 19 | 13–16 | C | San Diego, CA | sMRI | The group with PAE showed decreased gyrification with age in the right frontal, occipital, left frontal and parietal cortices; the controls showed increased gyrification with age in right occipital cortices. |
| Inkelis et al. (2020) | 107 | 56 | 13–30 | C | Seattle, WA | sMRI | The group with PAE showed an initial increase in volume that peaked in early adulthood, followed by a decrease in volume later in life in the corpus callosum and caudate, as well as a linear decline in cerebellar volume. |
| Nardelli et al. (2011) | 28 | 56 | 6.0–17.0 | C | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | sMRI | No significant age-group interactions were found for intracranial volume, white matter volume, cortical gray matter volume, and deep gray matter volume. |
| Rajaprakash et al. (2014) | 36 | 52 | 8.1–15.6 | C | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | sMRI | No sigificant age by group interactions were found in the cortical thickness and surface area. |
| Zhou et al. (2011) | 33 | 33 | 6.0–30.0 | C | Alberta, Canada | sMRI | No sigificant age by group interactions were found in the cortical thickness. |
| Zhou et al. (2018) | 78 | 79 | 5.5–18.9 | C | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Alberta, Canada; Manitoba, Canada; Kingston, Ontario, Canada | sMRI | No age by group interactions were observed for volumes. Cortical thinning trajectories were also similar across groups. |
| Treit et al. (2017) | 70 | 74 | 5.0–32.0 | C | Alberta, Canada | sMRI, DTI | The control group showed a steeper increase in FA for the SLF and ILF compared to those with PAE. In contrast, individuals with PAE showed a steeper increase of FA in the genu compared to controls. Steeper increases in white matter and amygdala volumes were also observed in those with PAE compared to controls. Cortical thinning was slower in those with PAE vs. controls for the gyrus rectus. |
| Uban et al. (2017) | 31 | 30 | 9.3–15.5 | C | CIFASD: Minneapolis, MN, Los Angeles, CA | DTI | In control boys, FA increased with age in the cingulum and optic radiation; however, this was not observed for boys with PAE. |
| McLachlan et al. (2019) | 10 | 14 | 7.0–18.0 | C | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | MWF | In those with PAE, MWF increased with age in the corpus callosum and right minor forceps, while in controls the MWF did not significantly correlate with age. |
Note: FA, fractional anisotropy; MD, mean diffusivity; SLF, superior longitudinal fasciculus; ILF, inferior longitudinal fasciculus; PAE, prenatal alcohol-exposed; CON, control; L, longitudinal; C, Cross-sectional; sMRI, structural magnetic resonance imaging; fMRI, functional magnetic resonance imaging; DTI, diffusion tensor imaging; MWF, myelin water fraction.