Functional connectivity of the attention networks is altered and relates to neuropsychological outcomes in children with prenatal alcohol exposure

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100951Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • Children with prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) often have cognitive deficits.

  • We studied functional connectivity of attention networks in children with PAE.

  • Children with PAE had lower internetwork and higher intranetwork connectivity.

  • Functional connectivity moderated cognitive outcomes after PAE.

  • Inefficient network specialization may underly cognitive impairments in PAE.

Abstract

Cognitive and functional brain alterations can occur in children with prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). We examined the functional connectivity (FC) among regions within and between attention networks, and whether inter- and intranetwork FC moderated cognition in children with PAE (n = 37; age 12.8 ± 2.8 years) and nonexposed controls (n = 40; age 13.2 ± 2.8 years). Participants completed standardized attention and executive functioning tasks and resting state functional MRI. Inter- and intra-network FC and graph-theoretical metrics were calculated among attention network regions. Relative to controls, PAE was associated with reduced FC between the left temporoparietal junction and left ventral frontal cortex and anterior insula/frontal operculum (aI/fO), and between the left intraparietal sulcus and bilateral aI/fO. PAE was associated with increased FC between the right precuneus and intraparietal lobes, the right anterior prefrontal cortex and left ventral frontal cortex and aI/fO, and the left thalamus and dorsal frontal cortex. Graph-theoretical metrics did not differ by group. FC predicted cognitive performance, negatively in the children with PAE and positively in controls. Increased intra-network together with reduced internetwork FC suggests inefficient network specialization and impaired long-range FC among attention network regions after PAE. Results further suggest that those alterations may underlie attention and executive dysfunction in children with PAE.

Abbreviations

PAE
Prenatal alcohol exposure
FASD
fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
ON
orienting network
ECN
executive control network
ADHD
attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder
ARND
alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder
FAS
fetal alcohol syndrome
TD
typically developing
M
mean
SD
standard deviation
NEPSY-II
Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment
BRIEF
Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function
TR
repetition time
TE
echo time
rs-fMRI
resting state functional MRI
fMRI
functional MRI
ROI
region-of-interest
dACC
dorsal anterior cingulate cortex
aPFC
anterior prefrontal cortex
mCC
medial cingulate cortex
dFC
dorsal frontal cortex
dlPFC
dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex
aI/FO
anterior insula/frontal operculum
IPS
intraparietal sulcus
IPL
intraparietal lobe
TPJ
temporoparietal junction
FEF
frontal eye fields
VFC
ventral frontal cortex
MNI
Montreal Neurological Institute
L
Left
R
Right
FC
functional connectivity
rs-fMRI
resting-state fMRI

Keywords

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
Prenatal alcohol exposure
Resting-state functional MRI
Functional connectivity
Attention
Executive function

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