The Use of Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy to Differentiate Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Impairment

ABSTRACT

Oxygenated (HBO) and deoxygenated hemoglobin (HBR) levels in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) were measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to determine if PFC activity during a cognitive inhibition task distinguishes children with prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE, n = 26) from both typically developing controls (n = 19) and a contrast group of children with other neurobehavioral problems (n = 14). Despite showing evidence of increased PFC activity in the non-inhibitory condition relative to controls, children in the PAE group displayed reduced PFC HBO and increased HBR relative to both other groups in the inhibitory condition, suggesting reduced PFC activity but increased oxygen consumption without sufficient oxygen replacement.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the children and their families who participated in this research, Sharon Paige-Whitaker for coordinating families, and the Pediatric Biostatistics Core in the Emory Department of Pediatrics for consultation on analyses.

Declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethics approval was obtained from the Internal Review Board of Emory University School of Medicine (Study No.: IRB00061788). All participants underwent an informed consent process and minors were required to provide oral or written assent for the assessments carried in the study. Participant recruitment and the study’s procedures were carried out in accordance with the guidelines established by the Declaration of Helsinki.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Availability of data and material

The datasets used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests to declare.

Authors’ contributions

JK and CC conceived of and designed the study. TEM and JH processed data for analyses. CEB and JK analyzed the results. CEB drafted the paper and all authors edited the manuscript.

List of Abbreviations

PAE	=	Prenatal alcohol exposure
FASDs	=	Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
FAS	=	Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
fNIRS	=	Functional near infrared spectroscopy
HBO	=	Oxygenated hemoglobin
HBR	=	Deoxygenated hemoglobin
TEC	=	Task of Executive Control

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a grant from the Spray Foundation and by a NIH Research Grant #U24AA014811 funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). All or part of this work was done in conjunction with the Collaborative Initiative on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (CIFASD), which is funded by grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Additional information about CIFASD can be found at www.cifasd.org. Spray Foundation is a private foudation in the Atlanta metropolitan area and portions of the effort and equipment used in this study were paid for by the Spray Foundation funds to our center.