Behavioral Characteristics and Neural Correlates of Reading Impairment in FASD

FASD 阅读障碍的行为特征和神经相关性

基本信息

批准号：
9753820
负责人：
Nadine Gaab
金额：
$ 32.72万
依托单位：
WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
财政年份：
2015
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2015-08-10 至 2021-07-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9753820
关键词：
Adolescent Affect Age Alcohols Anisotropy Back Behavior assessment Behavioral Boston Brain Brain region Characteristics Child Cognitive Color Communities Data Deltastab Development Developmental reading disorder Diagnosis Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging Disease Environmental Exposure Exhibits Fetal Alcohol Exposure Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Fetal alcohol effects Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Image Analysis Impairment Incidence Inferior Intervention Language Lead Left Letters Link Longitudinal cohort Magnetic Resonance Imaging Measures Mediating Morphology Neural Pathways Newborn Infant Nursery Schools Occupational Pathway interactions Pediatric Hospitals Performance Pregnancy Preschool Child Public Health Reading Reading Disabilities Reporting Research Short-Term Memory South Africa Speech Sound Structure Testing Thick TimeLine Universities adolescent alcohol exposure base cohort executive function eyeblink conditioning fetal frontal lobe gray matter hospital laboratories innovation interest middle childhood morphometry neural correlate neural network neuroimaging neuromechanism neurotoxic phonological awareness phonology prospective public health relevance reading ability reading comprehension reading difficulties relating to nervous system response skills success white matter

项目摘要

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Although a few studies have documented poorer reading performance in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), relatively little is known about the specific aspects of reading that may be affected. In two recent studies, PI Jacobson and her colleagues at University of Cape Town (UCT) found specific effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on reading comprehension, which were mediated by deficits in reading fluency and phonological awareness. Although the neural mechanisms that underlie reading impairment have been studied extensively in children with developmental dyslexia (DD), the neural correlates of reading impairment in FASD have not previously been investigated. Studies of DD by PI Gaab at Boston Children's Hospital (BCH) and others have revealed morphological and functional alterations in inferior frontal, posterior perisylvian, and two left hemispheric posterior brain regions and poorer structural integrity in the left arcuate fasciculus (AF). Two well-characterized longitudinal cohorts of children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure and healthy controls in Cape Town, South Africa, will be studied-one comprised of 150 adolescents; the other, of 131 preschool-age children. The aims are (1) To systematically characterize the specific aspects of reading and pre-reading skills that are affected in FASD; (2) To examine the degree to which the relation between prenatal alcohol exposure and reading may be attributable to alcohol-related deficits in language skills, executive function, working memory, and/or IQ; (3) To test the hypothesis that, as in DD, reading impairment in alcohol-exposed adolescents is associated with structural and functional deficits in inferior frontal, posterior perisylvian, and left hemispheric posterior brain regions and their underlying white matter tracts, including the AF; (4) To test the hypothesis that, as in DD, fetal alcohol-related neural deficits during phonological processing (measured using fMRI) and structural alterations in reading-related brain regions predate reading onset and are already evident in preschool children; (5) To test the hypothesis that poorer white matter integrity in the left AF in the newborn brain will predict fetal alcohol-related pre-reading deficits at preschool age. Since 1998, PI Jacobson and her colleagues at UCT have been studying FASD in the Cape Coloured (mixed ancestry) community, in which incidence of FAS is among the highest in the world. Although they and others have conducted neuroimaging studies of working memory, response inhibition, eyeblink conditioning, and number processing, this will be the first study to examine the neural correlates of reading impairment in FASD. Since 2004, PI Gaab has been studying alterations of the neural network that mediates reading impairment in DD. This will be the first study to examine how a neurotoxic insult from an environmental exposure may affect the structural and functional brain networks that mediate reading. The proposed study will significantly enhance the research capability and direction of both the UCT and BCH laboratories and potentially contribute to development of innovative targeted interventions for this major public health problem in the US, South Africa, and worldwide.

描述（由申请人提供）：虽然一些研究已经证明患有胎儿酒精谱系障碍（FASD）的儿童的阅读能力较差，但对于可能受到影响的阅读的具体方面知之甚少。在最近的两项研究中，开普敦大学 (UCT) 的 PI Jacobson 和她的同事发现，产前接触酒精对阅读理解能力有特定影响，这是由阅读流畅性和语音意识的缺陷所介导的。尽管阅读障碍的神经机制已在患有发育性阅读障碍 (DD) 的儿童中得到广泛研究，但 FASD 中阅读障碍的神经相关性此前尚未得到研究。波士顿儿童医院 (BCH) 的 PI Gaab 和其他人对 DD 的研究揭示了额下叶、后侧裂区和两个左半球后脑区域的形态和功能改变，以及左弓状束 (AF) 的结构完整性较差。将在南非开普敦对两个特征明确的纵向队列进行研究，其中一组由 150 名青少年组成，另一组由 150 名青少年组成，另一组由南非开普敦的健康对照者组成，其中一组是产前严重饮酒的儿童，另一组是由 150 名青少年组成。另一个是 131 名学龄前儿童。目标是 (1) 系统地描述 FASD 影响的阅读和预读技能的具体方面； (2) 检查产前酒精暴露与阅读之间的关系在多大程度上可归因于酒精相关的语言技能、执行功能、工作记忆和/或智商缺陷； (3) 检验以下假设：与 DD 一样，暴露于酒精的青少年的阅读障碍与额下叶、后周侧裂和左半球后脑区域及其底层白质束（包括 AF）的结构和功能缺陷相关; (4) 检验以下假设：与 DD 一样，胎儿在语音处理过程中与酒精相关的神经缺陷（使用功能磁共振成像测量）以及阅读相关大脑区域的结构改变早于阅读开始，并且在学龄前儿童中已经很明显； (5) 检验以下假设：新生儿大脑左侧 AF 的白质完整性较差，可预测学龄前胎儿与酒精相关的预读缺陷。自 1998 年以来，PI Jacobson 和她在 UCT 的同事一直在开普有色人种（混血）社区研究 FASD，该社区的 FAS 发病率是世界上最高的。尽管他们和其他人已经对工作记忆、反应抑制、眨眼调节和数字处理进行了神经影像学研究，但这将是第一项检查 FASD 阅读障碍的神经相关性的研究。自 2004 年以来，PI Gaab 一直在研究介导 DD 阅读障碍的神经网络的改变。这将是第一项研究环境暴露造成的神经毒性损伤如何影响介导阅读的大脑网络结构和功能的网络。拟议的研究将显着增强 UCT 和 BCH 实验室的研究能力和方向，并可能有助于针对美国、南非和全世界这一重大公共卫生问题开发创新的有针对性的干预措施。