Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

In collaboration with Sandra and Joseph Jacobson

Arithmetic has been identified as a particularly sensitive developmental endpoint for prenatal alcohol exposure. This collaboration includes two projects:

An ERP Study of Infant Numerosity in FASD

We conduct the first ERP study of infants exposed prenatally to alcohol in comparison with healthy controls using the ”Error Detection of Incorrect Basic Arithmetic Equations” ERP paradigm developed in our lab. The sample consists of a group of infants that have been heavily exposed to alcohol and another group of non-exposed controls, whose mothers have been followed during pregnancy. The infants are evaluated at 6 months postpartum.

Numerical Cognition in Adolescents with FASD

Research on and treatment of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been hampered by a lack of specificity in behavioral diagnostic criteria and limited understanding of the neural substrates that mediate the observed cognitive deficits. Phenotypically similar problems in attention and hyperactivity seen in these two disorders are difficult to distinguish despite different etiologies.

This study sample consists of FASD and ADHD adolescents who have been longitudinally followed since pregnancy. We utilize ERP and EEG methods to examine which numerical and control processes of number processing are affected: non-symbolic/abstract representation of quantity (numerosity), arithmetic processing of numerical information (calculation), executive monitoring of arithmetic errors, selective attention, and response inhibition/cognitive control, or some combination of these.

We also examine the degree to which the ERP data are related to behavioral performance on computerized tasks tapping different aspects of numerical cognition, as well as to standard Math tests.