Functional connectivity of cognition-related brain networks in adults with fetal alcohol syndrome

Background: Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) can result in cognitive dysfunction. Cognitive functions affected are subserved by few functional brain networks. Functional connectivity (FC) in these networks can be assessed with resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI). Alterations of FC have been reported...

Verfasser: Sundermann, Benedikt
Feldmann, Reinhold
Mathys, Christian
Rau, Johanna Maria Helena
Garde, Stefan
Braje, Anna
Weglage, Josef
Pfleiderer, Bettina
FB/Einrichtung:FB 05: Medizinische Fakultät
Dokumenttypen:Artikel
Medientypen:Text
Erscheinungsdatum:2023
Publikation in MIAMI:15.12.2023
Datum der letzten Änderung:15.12.2023
Angaben zur Ausgabe:[Electronic ed.]
Quelle:BMC Medicine 21 (2023) 496; 1-17
Schlagwörter:Fetal alcohol syndrome; Prenatal alcohol; Executive functions; Higher criticism; Connectivity; Resting-state fMRI
Fachgebiet (DDC):610: Medizin und Gesundheit
Lizenz:CC BY 4.0
Sprache:English
Format:PDF-Dokument
URN:urn:nbn:de:hbz:6-18928626298
Weitere Identifikatoren:DOI: 10.17879/18928627197
Permalink:https://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:6-18928626298
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  • Onlinezugriff:10.1186_s12916-023-03208-8.pdf

    Background: Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) can result in cognitive dysfunction. Cognitive functions affected are subserved by few functional brain networks. Functional connectivity (FC) in these networks can be assessed with resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI). Alterations of FC have been reported in children and adolescents prenatally exposed to alcohol. Previous reports varied substantially regarding the exact nature of findings. The purpose of this study was to assess FC of cognition-related networks in young adults with FAS. Methods: Cross-sectional rs-fMRI study in participants with FAS (n = 39, age: 20.9 ± 3.4 years) and healthy participants without prenatal alcohol exposure (n = 44, age: 22.2 ± 3.4 years). FC was calculated as correlation between cortical regions in ten cognition-related sub-networks. Subsequent modelling of overall FC was based on linear models comparing FC between FAS and controls. Results were subjected to a hierarchical statistical testing approach, first determining whether there is any alteration of FC in FAS in the full cognitive connectome, subsequently resolving these findings to the level of either FC within each network or between networks based on the Higher Criticism (HC) approach for detecting rare and weak effects in high-dimensional data. Finally, group differences in single connections were assessed using conventional multiple-comparison correction. In an additional exploratory analysis, dynamic FC states were assessed. Results: Comparing FAS participants with controls, we observed altered FC of cognition-related brain regions globally, within 7 out of 10 networks, and between networks employing the HC statistic. This was most obvious in attention-related network components. Findings also spanned across subcomponents of the fronto-parietal control and default mode networks. None of the single FC alterations within these networks yielded statistical significance in the conventional high-resolution analysis. The exploratory time-resolved FC analysis did not show significant group differences of dynamic FC states. Conclusions: FC in cognition-related networks was altered in adults with FAS. Effects were widely distributed across networks, potentially reflecting the diversity of cognitive deficits in FAS. However, no altered single connections could be determined in the most detailed analysis level. Findings were pronounced in networks in line with attentional deficits previously reported.