Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) can lead to cognitive, behavioural, and social–emotional challenges. Previous neuroimaging research has identified structural brain alterations in newborns, older children, adolescents, and adults with PAE; however, little is known about brain structure in young children. Extensive brain development occurs during early childhood; therefore, understanding the neurological profiles of young children with PAE is critical for early identification and effective intervention. We studied 54 children (5.21 ± 1.11 years; 27 males) with confirmed PAE (94% also had other prenatal exposures, 74% had adverse postnatal experiences) compared with 54 age- and sex-matched children without PAE. Children underwent diffusion tensor imaging between 2 and 7 years of age. Mean fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) were obtained for 10 major white matter tracts. Univariate analyses of covariance were used to test group differences (PAE vs. control) controlling for age and sex. The PAE group had higher FA in the genu of the corpus callosum and lower MD in the bilateral uncinate fasciculus. The PAE group also had lower tract volume in the corpus callosum, the bilateral inferior fronto-occipital fasciculi, and the right superior longitudinal fasciculus. Our findings align with studies of newborns with PAE reporting lower diffusivity, but contrast those in older populations with PAE, which consistently report lower FA and higher MD. Further research is needed to understand trajectories of white matter development and how our results of higher FA/lower MD in young children connect with lower FA/higher MD observed at older ages.

中文翻译：

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产前酒精暴露的幼儿的白质改变

产前酒精暴露 (PAE) 会导致认知、行为和社会情感挑战。以前的神经影像学研究已经确定了患有 PAE 的新生儿、年龄较大的儿童、青少年和成人的大脑结构改变。然而，人们对幼儿的大脑结构知之甚少。广泛的大脑发育发生在儿童早期；因此，了解 PAE 幼儿的神经学特征对于早期识别和有效干预至关重要。我们研究了 54 名确诊为 PAE 的儿童（5.21 ± 1.11 岁；27 名男性）（94% 也有其他产前暴露，74% 有不良产后经历）与 54 名年龄和性别匹配的儿童没有 PAE。儿童在 2 至 7 岁之间接受了弥散张量成像。获得了 10 个主要白质束的平均分数各向异性 (FA) 和平均扩散率 (MD)。协方差的单变量分析用于测试控制年龄和性别的组差异（PAE 与对照组）。PAE组胼胝体膝部FA较高，双侧钩束MD较低。PAE 组的胼胝体、双侧额枕下束和右侧上纵束的束体积也较小。我们的研究结果与 PAE 报告较低扩散率的新生儿研究一致，但与 PAE 老年人群的研究结果相反，后者始终报告较低的 FA 和较高的 MD。