Drinking a little alcohol during pregnancy could cause cognitive impairment in the child: Study
| Apr 29, 2019, 15:12 IST
A new study reveals that pregnant women who consume even a tiny amount of alcohol could increase the risk of cognitive impairment in their children.
Researchers of the study say their findings back up previous research that shows just how damaging alcohol can be on the fetus. Babies exposed to alcohol while in their mothers' womb could suffer deficiencies in cortical inter-hemispheric connectivity and cognitive impairment. The team came to this conclusion after using a brain imaging technique called magnetoencephalography (MEG) to measure the responses.
While health officials recommend that pregnant women should avoid alcohol completely, researchers are trying to determine how much is too much for the health of the baby. Exposing children to alcohol prenatally can significantly raise the risk of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). It is one of the primary causes of intellectual disability across the globe. It has also found to have links to multiple neurological issues such as ADHD.
The team also developed a computer technique called Cortical Start Spatio-Temporal multidipole analysis that is able to spot which areas of the brain are active when participants were in the MEG machine. The team made notes of the 19 FASD subjects and 21 subjects without FASD. The results showed the FASD group exhibited impaired connectivity in several areas of the brain.
Researchers conclude those exposed to alcohol in the womb have a higher chance of having connection issues through the corpus callosum, which is the band of brain tissue that connects the left and right parts of the brain. People with multiple sclerosis, autism, depression and schizophrenia are knowns to have this problem. "We show that the disruption in the inter-hemispheric connectivity observed in this study is correlated with cognitive deficits associated with FASD, suggesting a potential new biomarker for FASD," authors of the study told a news portal. Adding, "Based on our findings, we support the recommendation of no safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy."
The study's findings were published in the journal Chaos.
Researchers of the study say their findings back up previous research that shows just how damaging alcohol can be on the fetus. Babies exposed to alcohol while in their mothers' womb could suffer deficiencies in cortical inter-hemispheric connectivity and cognitive impairment. The team came to this conclusion after using a brain imaging technique called magnetoencephalography (MEG) to measure the responses.
While health officials recommend that pregnant women should avoid alcohol completely, researchers are trying to determine how much is too much for the health of the baby. Exposing children to alcohol prenatally can significantly raise the risk of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). It is one of the primary causes of intellectual disability across the globe. It has also found to have links to multiple neurological issues such as ADHD.
The team also developed a computer technique called Cortical Start Spatio-Temporal multidipole analysis that is able to spot which areas of the brain are active when participants were in the MEG machine. The team made notes of the 19 FASD subjects and 21 subjects without FASD. The results showed the FASD group exhibited impaired connectivity in several areas of the brain.
Researchers conclude those exposed to alcohol in the womb have a higher chance of having connection issues through the corpus callosum, which is the band of brain tissue that connects the left and right parts of the brain. People with multiple sclerosis, autism, depression and schizophrenia are knowns to have this problem. "We show that the disruption in the inter-hemispheric connectivity observed in this study is correlated with cognitive deficits associated with FASD, suggesting a potential new biomarker for FASD," authors of the study told a news portal. Adding, "Based on our findings, we support the recommendation of no safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy."
The study's findings were published in the journal Chaos.