Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) continue to be the leading preventable cause of intellectual disability in the U.S., Europe, and in endemic areas, such as the Western Cape region of South Africa. Arithmetic is highly sensitive to prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). The intraparietal sulcus (IPS) is known to play a critical role in number processing. In this study we investigate whether smaller IPS volumes play a role in the number processing deficits observed in children with PAE. Participants were 52 9- to 14-year-old children from a historically disadvantaged community in Cape Town, who are participating in our ongoing studies on effects of PAE on the brain. The IPS was manually parcellated into its medial (MIPS) and lateral (LIPS) walls on magnetic resonance images. The aims of the study were to examine (1) the effects of PAE on IPS regional volumes and asymmetry, (2) whether IPS regional volumes are related to number processing performance and, if so, whether these relations are moderated by PAE, and (3) potential mediation by regional IPS volumes of the relation between PAE and number processing performance. Total intracranial volume (TIV) was associated with volumes in all regions except the right LIPS. Both left MIPS and left LIPS volumes were significantly smaller in children in the fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)/partial FAS (PFAS) group compared to controls. The finding in the left LIPS remained significant after controlling for potential confounders and after adjustment for the smaller overall brain size of the children in the FAS/PFAS group. Smaller left LIPS volumes in the FAS/PFAS group may account for the absence of left-right asymmetry in the LIPS in children with FAS/PFAS compared to controls and nonsyndromal heavily exposed children. Bilaterally, larger MIPS volumes were associated with better WISC IQ Arithmetic scores. These effects, however, were not moderated by degree of PAE, and regional IPS volumes did not mediate the effect of PAE on WISC Arithmetic scores. Although we found that certain regions of the IPS were smaller in children with FAS and PFAS, these PAE-induced changes in IPS volume did not mediate the alcohol-related deficits in arithmetic.

中文翻译：

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产前酒精暴露对顶内沟外侧和内侧壁体积的影响。

在美国，欧洲和南非西开普地区等流行地区，胎儿酒精谱系障碍（FASD）仍然是导致智障的主要可预防原因。算术对产前酒精暴露（PAE）高度敏感。众所周知，顶内沟（IPS）在数字处理中起着至关重要的作用。在这项研究中，我们调查了较小的IPS量是否在PAE儿童中观察到的数字处理缺陷中起作用。参与者是来自开普敦历史上处于弱势社区的52名9至14岁儿童，他们正在参加我们正在进行的关于PAE对大脑的影响的研究。在磁共振图像上，将IPS手动分成其内侧（MIPS）和外侧（LIPS）壁。这项研究的目的是研究（1）PAE对IPS区域数量和不对称性的影响；（2）IPS区域数量是否与数字处理性能有关；如果是，这些关系是否由PAE缓和；以及（ 3）通过区域IPS量潜在地中介PAE和号码处理性能之间的关系。颅内总体积（TIV）与除正确的LIPS以外的所有其他区域的体积相关。与对照组相比，胎儿酒精综合症（FAS）/部分FAS（PFAS）组儿童的左MIPS和左LIPS量均明显较小。在控制了潜在的混杂因素并调整了FAS / PFAS组儿童的整体大脑尺寸之后，左LIPS的发现仍然很重要。FAS / PFAS组的左LIPS量较小，这可能是FAS / PFAS患儿的LIPS与对照组和非综合征高暴露儿童相比没有左右左右不对称的原因。双边而言，更大的MIPS量与更好的WISC IQ算术分数相关。但是，这些影响并未通过PAE的程度来缓解，并且区域IPS量也未介导PAE对WISC算术分数的影响。尽管我们发现FAS和PFAS患儿的IPS的某些区域较小，但这些PAE诱导的IPS体积变化并未在算术上介导酒精相关的缺陷。但是，这些影响并未通过PAE的程度来缓解，并且区域IPS量也未介导PAE对WISC算术分数的影响。尽管我们发现FAS和PFAS患儿的IPS的某些区域较小，但这些PAE诱导的IPS体积变化并未在算术上介导酒精相关的缺陷。但是，这些影响并未通过PAE的程度来缓解，并且区域IPS量也未介导PAE对WISC算术分数的影响。尽管我们发现FAS和PFAS患儿的IPS的某些区域较小，但这些PAE诱导的IPS体积变化并未在算术上介导酒精相关的缺陷。