Our previous studies revealed abnormalities on structural MRI (sMRI) in sma
ll groups of children exposed to alcohol prenatally, Microcephaly, dispropo
rtionately reduced basal ganglia volume, and abnormalities of the cerebella
r vermis and corpus callosum were demonstrated. The present study used sMRI
to examine in detail the regional pattern of brain hypoplasia resulting fr
om prenatal exposure to alcohol using a higher resolution imaging protocol
and larger sample sixes than reported previously. Fourteen participants (me
an 11.4 years; eight females, six males) with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
and 12 participants (mean 14.8 years; four females, eight males) with prena
tal exposure to alcohol (PEA) but without the facial features of FAS were c
ompared to a group of 41 control participants (mean 12.8 years, 20 females,
21 males), Findings of significant microcephaly and disproportionately red
uced basal ganglia volumes in the FAS group were confirmed. Novel findings
were that in FAS participants, white matter volumes were more affected than
gray matter volumes in the cerebrum, and parietal lobes were more affected
than temporal and occipital lobes, Among subcortical structures, in contra
st to the disproportionate effects on caudate nucleus, the hippocampus was
relatively preserved in FAS participants. Differences between the PEA group
and controls were generally non-significant; however, among a few of the s
tructures most affected in FAS participants, there was some evidence for vo
lume reduction in PEA participants as well, specifically in basal ganglia a
nd the parietal lobe, There were no group differences in cerebral volume as
ymmetries. Severe prenatal alcohol exposure appears to produce a specific p
attern of brain hypoplasia.