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Alterations in the whole brain network organization after prenatal ethanol exposure
Author(s) -
Tang Shiyu,
Xu Su,
Zhu Wenjun,
Gullapalli Rao P.,
Mooney Sandra M.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1111/ejn.14653
Subject(s) - offspring , fetal alcohol syndrome , neuropsychology , gestation , psychology , pregnancy , resting state fmri , fetus , ethanol , neuroscience , physiology , medicine , endocrinology , biology , cognition , biochemistry , genetics
Abstract Background People with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) often have structural or functional alterations of the central nervous system, including changes in brain network organization. These have been associated with neuropsychological deficits, but outcomes are not consistent across studies. We used a rat model of FASD to assess brain network alterations in males and females following ethanol exposure during a prenatal period similar to the first half of gestation in humans. Methods Pregnant Long Evans rats were given an ethanol‐containing or isocaloric non‐ethanol diet from gestation day 6 to 20. Resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed on offspring in young adulthood. Graph theoretical analysis was used to assess properties associated with the whole brain network organization, with a focus on segregation, integration, and small‐world organization—a feature which allows specialized local information processing (segregation) and simultaneously efficient global information sharing (integration). Results Ethanol‐exposed females showed a significant decrease in small‐worldness compared with control females or with ethanol‐exposed males. Compared to control females, the proportion of animals with atypically high path length (1 standard deviation higher than the grand average) was significantly higher in ethanol‐exposed females, indicating that the alteration in small‐world organization is driven by decreased network integration. No significant effects were seen in males. Conclusion The results revealed that prenatal ethanol exposure disrupts the balance between network segregation and integration in young adult female rats. The whole brain network is less integrated after ethanol exposure in the females, suggesting wide‐spread reduction of long‐range regional communication.