Effects Of Exposure On Brain Development - 2164 Words

The topic chosen is the effect of exposure to alcohol prenatally on brain development. This topic is important because fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) have had an estimated prevalence of 1 in 100 and represent the top source of avoidable developmental disability in North America (Treit et al., 2013). Many children diagnosed with a disorder of this type experience many developmental delays and fall behind there peers both cognitively and socially. Alcohol has the ability to harmfully influence the brain’s development through various means. When exposed to alcohol, genes can be transcribed incorrectly, oxidative stress can occur, and oxygen can be deprived from tissues leading to cell death (Treit et al., 2013).†¦show more content†¦Most research has focused on substantial exposure and not low-to-moderate quantities, making this study relevant. Past research has shown significant decreases in the frontal, temporal and parietal lobes of those who were exposed to a large amount of alcohol in the womb. The first study was longitudinal in nature. Seventeen participants with FASD and twenty-seven controls aged five to fifteen years old were involved in the study. The FASD participants were recruited from a clinic specializing in FSD, and they had been diagnosed with an alcohol related disorder. FASD is a term that encompasses a few conditions of varying severity and participants of various conditions were included. T he patients underwent a special type of MRI scan called diffuse tensor imaging (DTI). 92 scans were collected total in this study and each participant received either two or three scans. Specific details of the brain’s white matter can be visualized by using DTI. Both groups had some commonalities in some structural areas that are expected to change as an outcome of development. DTI showed that there were microstructural anomalies in the areas of the brain including by not limited to the corpus callosum and connective fibers (Treit et al., 2013). When the white matter tracts of the two groups were compared, the FASD group had many abnormal structural changes. The areas where large differences were noted were in the