Article
Cell Biology
Jessica A. Baker, Tamara S. Bodnar, Kristen R. Breit, Joanne Weinberg, Jennifer D. Thomas
Summary: Alcohol exposure during pregnancy can have negative effects on development, including cognitive and behavioral dysfunction. It has been found that alcohol-induced changes in cytokine levels in the hippocampus can contribute to abnormal outcomes. Nutritional intervention with choline may improve behavioral impairments and influence neuroimmune function.
Article
Neurosciences
Mark W. Burke, Hocine Slimani, Maurice Ptito, Frank R. Ervin, Roberta M. Palmour
Summary: The study shows that the neuroanatomical consequences of fetal alcohol exposure are dose-responsive and suggests that there may be a threshold for this effect.
Article
Neurosciences
Mu-Hsuan Chen, Cih-Li Hong, Yi-Ting Wang, Tsyr-Jiuan Wang, Jeng-Rung Chen
Summary: The study provides evidence that treatment with astaxanthin can improve morphological changes and cognitive impairment in FASD rats by reducing oxidative stress and neuroinflammation in the brain.
BRAIN RESEARCH BULLETIN
(2022)
Review
Pediatrics
Diego A. Gomez, Omar A. Abdul-Rahman
Summary: Recent research has focused on leveraging technology to develop tools for diagnosis, defining neurocognition and neuroimaging patterns specific to FASD, developing interventions, and expanding access to care. FASDs are a common cause of neurodevelopmental impairment in school-age children, and early interventions are essential for optimizing outcomes. Evidence suggests applying principles of neuroplasticity may improve the lives of patients and their families affected by prenatal alcohol exposure.
CURRENT OPINION IN PEDIATRICS
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
B. Spurny, T. Vanicek, R. Seiger, M. B. Reed, M. Kloebl, V Ritter, J. Unterholzner, G. M. Godbersen, L. R. Silberbauer, D. Pacher, S. Klug, M. E. Konadu, G. Gryglewski, S. Trattnig, W. Bogner, R. Lanzenberger
Summary: The study focused on investigating the effects of associative relearning and SSRI treatment on GABAergic and glutamatergic function, revealing a significant interaction effect on hippocampal and thalamic Glx/tCr levels following SSRI treatment.
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Anita J. J. Fuglestad, Neely C. C. Miller, Birgit A. A. Fink, Christopher J. J. Boys, Judith K. K. Eckerle, Michael K. K. Georgieff, Jeffrey R. R. Wozniak
Summary: Choline supplementation is associated with recognition memory performance in children with FASD, as indicated by the neurophysiological correlates of middle latency negative component and positive slow wave.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Vannessa Duarte, Paul Leger, Sergio Contreras, Hiroaki Fukuda
Summary: Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) refers to children's conditions caused by their mother consuming alcohol during pregnancy. Early diagnosis is crucial for improving children's quality of life, and using machine learning tools like ANN is a promising approach for FASD detection. Results suggest that ANN is a competitive and efficient methodology for detecting FASD.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2021)
Review
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Erin Mathews, Kevyn Dewees, Deborah Diaz, Carlita Favero
Summary: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs) encompass a range of deficits in physical, mental, and behavioral functions caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. Research shows that alcohol leads to significant white matter abnormalities in various brain regions, affecting neural pathways and guidance cue mechanisms. Further study is needed to understand how prenatal alcohol exposure impacts the formation of neural connections and functional connectivity disruption in FASD.
EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
(2021)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Amena Alsakran, Tetsuhiro Kudoh
Summary: Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders caused by elevated alcohol levels in pregnant mothers lead to symptoms such as microcephaly and cardiac defects. Zebrafish embryos provide an ideal model system to study the effects of alcohol on cell migration and brain development, serving as convenient biomarkers for toxicity research and investigation of molecular pathways in brain development.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Sarah Soyeon Oh, Irene Kuang, Hyewon Jeong, Jin-Yeop Song, Boyu Ren, Jong Youn Moon, Eun-Cheol Park, Ichiro Kawachi
Summary: This study compared different machine learning algorithms to predict the prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) among pregnant women who consumed alcohol. The CatBoost algorithm showed the best performance, indicating its importance in FAS prediction. Factors such as timing of alcohol exposure during pregnancy, maternal age, race, and type of alcoholic beverage consumed were found to be influential in generating an accurate model.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL INTERNET RESEARCH
(2023)
Review
Genetics & Heredity
Danielle Sambo, David Goldman
Summary: Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) refers to the deleterious outcomes in offspring caused by prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE), including developmental delay, intellectual disability, attention deficits, and conduct disorders. Multiple factors, such as timing, dose, and duration of PAE, as well as maternal factors like age and nutrition, contribute to the risk and severity of FASD. Studies in humans and animal models have shown that genetic factors also play a role in the expression of FASD. This article reviews the literature on the genetics of FASD, including twin studies, candidate gene studies, and genetic testing, suggesting that different genetic factors in both mothers and offspring influence the phenotypic outcomes of PAE. Further research is needed to understand the genetic mechanisms behind FASD, which may lead to early detection and intervention methods.
Article
Neurosciences
Rob F. Gillis, Roberta M. Palmour
Summary: In this study, using a vervet monkey model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), the researchers found a large number of upregulated miRNAs that were significantly correlated with their predicted targets. Comparison with non-differentially expressed miRNAs from the dataset showed that these upregulated miRNAs had a greater impact on the fold changes of their corresponding mRNA targets. This evidence suggests that ethanol-induced upregulation of specific miRNAs might be functionally involved in the general downregulation of mRNAs observed in response to prenatal alcohol exposure by multiple investigators.
Article
Neurosciences
Donovan J. Roediger, Alyssa M. Krueger, Erik de Water, Bryon A. Mueller, Christopher A. Boys, Timothy J. Hendrickson, Mariah J. Schumacher, Sarah N. Mattson, Kenneth L. Jones, Kelvin O. Lim, Jeffrey R. Wozniak
Summary: Prenatal alcohol exposure impacts the morphology of hippocampal subfields in children, leading to significantly smaller volumes in areas such as CA1, CA4, subiculum, presubiculum, and the hippocampal tail. However, these subfield volumes show no significant correlation with episodic memory. This suggests potential areas for further research into the effects of alcohol exposure on brain development.
NEUROTOXICOLOGY AND TERATOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Qiufeng Wei, Jing Chen, Fei Xiao, Youbing Tu, Yu Zhong, Yubo Xie
Summary: High concentrations of dexmedetomidine have potential toxic effects on fetal rat hippocampal neurons, leading to neuronal apoptosis.
DRUG DESIGN DEVELOPMENT AND THERAPY
(2021)
Review
Cell Biology
Balapal S. Basavarajappa, Shivakumar Subbanna
Summary: Synaptic plasticity plays a role in brain remodeling after various types of brain damage. However, its influence on neurobehavioral abnormalities in alcohol use disorders (AUDs) is not fully understood.
Review
Substance Abuse
Sarah M. Inkelis, Jennifer D. Thomas
ALCOHOLISM-CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
(2018)
Article
Developmental Biology
Kristen R. Breit, Brandonn Zamudio, Jennifer D. Thomas
BIRTH DEFECTS RESEARCH
(2019)
Article
Neurosciences
Kristen R. Breit, Brandonn Zamudio, Jennifer D. Thomas
NEUROTOXICOLOGY AND TERATOLOGY
(2019)
Review
Substance Abuse
Hannah M. O. Reid, Melanie R. Lysenko-Martin, Taylor M. Snowden, Jennifer D. Thomas, Brian R. Christie
ALCOHOL-CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
(2020)
Article
Neurosciences
Roger W. Simmons, Tenille C. Taggart, Jennifer D. Thomas, Sarah N. Mattson, Edward P. Riley
HUMAN MOVEMENT SCIENCE
(2020)
Article
Neurosciences
Kristen R. Breit, Cristina G. Rodriguez, Annie Lei, Jennifer D. Thomas
NEUROTOXICOLOGY AND TERATOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Sarah M. Inkelis, Sonia Ancoli-Israel, Jennifer D. Thomas, Rakesh Bhattacharjee
Summary: The study found that patients with sleep disorders, especially insomnia, are more likely to experience depressive symptoms. Sleep disorder diagnosis in adolescent sleep clinic patients may predict a higher likelihood of positive depression screening. Assessing adolescents for sleep disorders should be prioritized due to the strong association with depression.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL SLEEP MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Substance Abuse
Hannah M. O. Reid, Taylor M. Snowden, Irene Shkolnikov, Kristen R. Breit, Cristina Rodriguez, Jennifer D. Thomas, Brian R. Christie
Summary: Prenatal exposure to alcohol and THC has distinct effects on parvalbumin-positive interneuron numbers in the hippocampus, suggesting that individual and combined exposures can influence the balance of excitation and inhibition in a structure crucial for learning and memory processes.
ALCOHOL-CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Erin L. Grafe, Christine J. Fontaine, Jennifer D. Thomas, Brian R. Christie
Summary: Choline directly impacts synaptic communication in the brain, inducing a long-term depression of synaptic efficacy in both male and female animals. It involves M1 receptors in control animals, but uniquely involves NMDA receptors in a model of FASD.
JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Editorial Material
Substance Abuse
Jennifer D. Thomas
ALCOHOLISM-CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
S. Hussain, K. R. Breit, J. D. Thomas
Summary: This study used a rodent model to examine the impact of prenatal e-cigarette exposure to nicotine, THC, and their combination on offspring's motor development. The results showed that combined exposure to nicotine and THC during prenatal period delayed sensorimotor development and exacerbated motor coordination impairments, particularly among females. These findings have important implications for pregnant women as we gain a better understanding of the teratogenic effects of consuming these drugs via e-cigarettes.
PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Erin L. Grafe, Mira M. M. Wade, Claire E. Hodson, Jennifer D. Thomas, Brian R. Christie
Summary: This study found that choline supplementation can restore hippocampal synaptic plasticity impaired by prenatal alcohol exposure. The results showed that choline supplementation improves excitability in female offspring affected by PNEE, and rescues decreased long-term potentiation in male offspring with PNEE.
Article
Neurosciences
Kristen R. Breit, Cristina G. Rodriguez, Samirah Hussain, Karen J. Thomas, Mikayla Zeigler, Ioanna Gerasimidis, Jennifer D. Thomas
Summary: Nicotine and cannabis are commonly consumed together through e-cigarettes during pregnancy. The potential consequences of prenatal e-cigarette exposure to both drugs are largely unknown. This study on pregnant rats exposed to nicotine and THC through e-cigarettes found that the co-exposure led to lower levels of nicotine, THC, and their metabolites compared to exposure to each drug alone. There were physiological effects observed, but no changes in food intake, water intake, weight gain, or litter outcomes.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Jessica A. Baker, Kristen R. Breit, Tamara S. Bodnar, Joanne Weinberg, Jennifer D. Thomas
Summary: Prenatal alcohol exposure can disrupt the development of the immune system, but choline supplementation can mitigate these effects. The study found that early choline supplementation can reduce the impact of alcohol exposure on hippocampal inflammation and improve hippocampal function.
Article
Substance Abuse
Rashmi D. Risbud, Kristen R. Breit, Jennifer D. Thomas
Summary: Prenatal and adolescent alcohol exposure in rats have different effects on behavior and brain development, with early exposure reducing brain weight, increasing activity levels, and affecting learning speed, while adolescent exposure not inducing gross brain pathology or learning disruptions. Females exposed to alcohol only during adolescence showed altered emotional responding, while combined exposure during both periods reduced anxiety-related behaviors and increased risk taking in a sex-dependent manner.
ALCOHOLISM-CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
(2022)