Rau Johanna M H, Sundermann Benedikt, Pfleiderer Bettina, Dehghan-Nayyeri Mahboobeh, Garde Stefan, Weglage Josef, Feldmann Reinhold
Clinic of Radiology, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Münster, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
Department of Neurology with Institute of Translational Neurology, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res (Hoboken). 2023 Mar;47(3):600-612. doi: 10.1111/acer.15025. Epub 2023 Feb 17.
Executive dysfunction, especially impaired inhibitory control, is a common finding in individuals with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Previous research has mostly focused on neural correlates of inhibitory deficits in children and adolescents. We investigated inhibitory functions and underlying cerebral activation patterns in young adult women with FAS.
Task performance and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were acquired during a Go/NoGo (GNG) inhibition task in 19 young adult women with FAS and 19 healthy female control subjects. Whole-brain activation and task performance analyses were supplemented by region of interest (ROI) analyses of fMRI data within a predefined cognitive control network (CCN).
Task performance did not differ significantly between groups on errors of commission, associated with inhibitory control. Similarly, overall activation within the preselected ROIs did not differ significantly between groups for the main inhibitory contrast NoGo > Go. However, whole-brain analyses revealed activation differences in the FAS group when compared to controls under inhibitory conditions. This included hyperactivations in the left inferior frontal, superior temporal, and supramarginal gyri in the FAS group. Likewise, lateralization tendencies toward right-hemispheric ROIs were weaker in FAS subjects. In contrast to comparable inhibitory performance, attention-related errors of omission were significantly higher in the FAS group. Correspondingly, FAS subjects had lower activity in attention-related temporal and parietal areas.
The known alterations of inhibitory functions associated with prenatal alcohol exposure in children and adolescents were not seen in this adult sample. However, differential brain activity was observed, reflecting potential compensatory mechanisms. Secondary results suggest that there is impaired attentional control in young adult women with FAS.
执行功能障碍，尤其是抑制控制受损，是胎儿酒精谱系障碍（FAS）个体的常见表现。以往研究主要聚焦于儿童和青少年抑制缺陷的神经相关性。我们调查了患有FAS的年轻成年女性的抑制功能及潜在的脑激活模式。
在一项Go/NoGo（GNG）抑制任务中，对19名患有FAS的年轻成年女性和19名健康女性对照者进行任务表现和功能磁共振成像（fMRI）数据采集。全脑激活和任务表现分析辅以在预定义认知控制网络（CCN）内对fMRI数据进行的感兴趣区域（ROI）分析。
在与抑制控制相关的错误率方面，两组之间的任务表现无显著差异。同样，在主要抑制对比NoGo＞Go时，预选ROI内的总体激活在两组之间也无显著差异。然而，全脑分析显示，在抑制条件下，FAS组与对照组相比存在激活差异。这包括FAS组左侧额下回、颞上回和缘上回的激活增强。同样，FAS受试者中右半球ROI的偏侧化倾向较弱。与相当的抑制表现形成对比的是，FAS组中与注意力相关的遗漏错误显著更高。相应地，FAS受试者在与注意力相关的颞叶和顶叶区域的活动较低。
在这个成人样本中未观察到儿童和青少年中已知的与产前酒精暴露相关的抑制功能改变。然而，观察到了不同的脑活动，反映了潜在的代偿机制。次要结果表明，患有FAS的年轻成年女性存在注意力控制受损。
