Corpus callosum morphometry in children with prenatal alcohol exposure

Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging. 2021 Dec 30:318:111405. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2021.111405. Epub 2021 Oct 22.

Abstract

Alcohol is known to have a neurotoxic effect on the brain of offspring of mothers consuming alcohol during pregnancy. Impact on the neurodevelopment in children who were exposed to alcohol specifically during the antenatal period without any clinically detectable features of fetal alcohol syndrome is less well studied. In this cross-sectional study, structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain was acquired in 28 children whose mothers had consumed alcohol during pregnancy and 30 children of mothers who did not consume alcohol during pregnancy. Areas of Corpus callosum (CC) and its parts in the mid-sagittal section were calculated using morphometric analysis of MRI through Witelson's method. Midbody of CC was found to be significantly smaller in children exposed to alcohol during the prenatal period. CC is a sensitive white matter structure to neurotoxic effects of alcohol during prenatal life. This impact could be visible in developmental age even in those without any clinically detectable features of alcohol exposure.

MeSH terms

  • Brain / pathology
  • Child
  • Corpus Callosum* / diagnostic imaging
  • Corpus Callosum* / pathology
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
  • Pregnancy
  • Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects* / diagnostic imaging