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Longitudinal mapping of brain-face-behavior trajectories in prenatal alcohol exposure from birth through adolescence

Award Number: R01AA026834
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

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Maternal substance use disorders are a substantial public health concern and the neurological consequences of prenatal exposure are a major threat to the long-term health of offspring. Globally, prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) is between 2-7 and 20-50 per 1000, respectively. By contrast, in certain high-risk communities in South Africa, prevalence is reported to be as high as 63 and 155 per 1000, respectively. Though prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is known to affect the central nervous system, to date, little data exists in respect of the impact of PAE in early childhood and followed through into adolescence. For neurodevelopmental disorders, studies have consistently shown that early intervention, based on detection and targeted interventions, leads to better long-term outcomes. We aim to address this precise gap in knowledge by imaging the brain and 3D face across the FASD continuum to investigate early biomarkers, trajectories, and functional correlates of PAE in a cohort followed prospectively from birth to age 12 years. Data: Our cohort includes a highly characterized subsample of children (PAE and healthy controls) enrolled in the Drakenstein Child Health Study in Cape Town, South Africa, who have been scanned as neonates, 2-years, and 6 years of age. Preliminary published data shows highly significant relationships between PAE and regional gray and white matter changes at each of these timepoints as well as altered white matter maturational trajectories. An additional longitudinal assessment at 12-years will yield a unique FASD sample with 4 distinct time points (infants, toddlers, children and adolescents), allowing characterization of brain and face morphology and brain structure and function in this previously understudied full childhood range. This proposal addresses fundamental gaps concerning the presence, timing and regional specificity of altered brain morphology and structural and functional connectivity in association with the effects of PAE on the developing brain from birth to 12 years, and the relationships with facial dysmorphology. The research team has successfully gathered data from the proposed cohort as neonates, 2–years and 6 years of age. The benefits of extending this research to a subsequent imaging time- point, with a larger range of developmental and neurobehavioral assessments, provides an unprecedented opportunity to determine longitudinal effects of PAE on the trajectory of the developing brain in these critical years through early adolescence, the links between neural and face predictors of PAE and the long-term clinical significance of these findings. This research will illuminate early neurodevelopmental trajectories leading to subsequent behavioral and neurological disturbances, which may allow opportunities for targeting interventions when brain plasticity is still relatively fluid. This project might also lead to new strategies for early diagnosis using both face and brain biomarkers.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $521,003 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES	10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700	LOS ANGELES	CA	90024	LOS ANGELES	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	001	6	4/16/2024	COMPETING CONTINUATION	$521,003
2024	2022	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES	10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700	LOS ANGELES	CA	90024	LOS ANGELES	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	000	5	4/15/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $521,003

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $501,170 )
2022	2022	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES	10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700	LOS ANGELES	CA	90024	LOS ANGELES	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	000	5	7/11/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$501,170
														Subtotal = $501,170

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $509,663 )
2021	2021	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES	10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700	LOS ANGELES	CA	90024	LOS ANGELES	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	000	4	6/30/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$509,663
														Subtotal = $509,663

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $530,736 )
2020	2020	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES	10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700	LOS ANGELES	CA	90095	LOS ANGELES	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	000	3	6/24/2020	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$530,736
														Subtotal = $530,736

Issue Date FY: 2019 ( Subtotal = $498,954 )
2019	2019	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES	10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700	LOS ANGELES	CA	90095	LOS ANGELES	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	001	2	7/1/2019	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$498,954
2019	2018	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES	10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700	LOS ANGELES	CA	90095	LOS ANGELES	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	000	1	11/5/2018	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $498,954

Issue Date FY: 2018 ( Subtotal = $237,359 )
2018	2018	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES	10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700	LOS ANGELES	CA	90095	LOS ANGELES	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	000	1	9/19/2018	NEW	$237,359
														Subtotal = $237,359

Grand Total All Awards = $2,798,885

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Longitudinal mapping of brain-face-behavior trajectories in prenatal alcohol exposure from birth through adolescence

Award Number: R01AA026834

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

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