Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28560153›Full record

ArticleNeuroImage. Clinical2017

Sexual dimorphism of volume reduction but not cognitive deficit in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: A combined diffusion tensor imaging, cortical thickness and brain volume study.

Sarah Treit, Zhang Chen, Dongming Zhou, Lauren Baugh, Carmen Rasmussen, Gail Andrew, Jacqueline Pei, Christian Beaulieu

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in NeuroImage. Clinical, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
35citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
6.1field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

35 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 65 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. Article
  4. Impact of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure on Cerebral Cortex Development.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Sarah TreitNeuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G-2R3, Canada; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G-2R3, Canada.
Zhang ChenDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G-2R3, Canada.
Dongming ZhouDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G-2R3, Canada.
Lauren BaughDepartment of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G-2R3, Canada.
Carmen RasmussenNeuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G-2R3, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G-2R3, Canada.
Gail AndrewDepartment of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G-2R3, Canada; FASD Diagnostic Clinic, Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, Edmonton, AB T6G-0B7, Canada.
Jacqueline PeiDepartment of Educational Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G-2R3, Canada.
Christian BeaulieuNeuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G-2R3, Canada; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G-2R3, Canada. Electronic address: christian.beaulieu@ualberta.ca.
University of Alberta · CAWomen and Children’s Health Research Institute · CA

Funding

CIHR
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has revealed abnormalities in brain volumes, cortical thickness and white matter microstructure in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD); however, no study has reported all three measures within the same cohort to assess the relative magnitude of deficits, and few studies have examined sex differences. Participants with FASD (n = 70; 30 females; 5-32 years) and healthy controls (n = 74; 35 females; 5-32 years) underwent cognitive testing and MRI to assess cortical thickness, regional brain volumes and fractional anisotropy (FA)/mean diffusivity (MD) of white matter tracts. A significant effect of group, age-by-group, or sex-by-group was found for 9/9 volumes, 7/39 cortical thickness regions, 3/9 white matter tracts, and 9/10 cognitive tests, indicating group differences that in some cases differ by age or sex. Volume reductions for several structures were larger in males than females, despite similar deficits of cognition in both sexes. Correlations between brain structure and cognitive scores were found in females of both groups, but were notably absent in males. Correlations within a given MRI modality (e.g. total brain volume and caudate volume) were prevalent in both the control and FASD groups, and were more numerous than correlations between measurement types (e.g. volumes and diffusion tensor imaging) in either cohort. This multi-modal MRI study finds widespread differences of brain structure in participants with prenatal alcohol exposure, and to a greater extent in males than females which may suggest attenuation of the expected process of sexual dimorphism of brain structure during typical development.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultBrainCerebral CortexChildChild, PreschoolCognitive DysfunctionDiffusion Tensor ImagingFemaleFetal Alcohol Spectrum DisordersHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMalePregnancyPrenatal Exposure Delayed EffectsSex CharacteristicsBrain volumeCognitionCortical thicknessDiffusion tensor imagingGenderPrenatal alcohol exposure

Identifiers

PMID28560153
PMCPMC5440763
OpenAlexW2612070345

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.