Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29438595›Full record

ArticleAlcoholism, clinical and experimental research2018

Effects of Early Alcohol Exposure on Functional Organization and Microstructure of a Visual-Tactile Integrative Circuit.

Shiyu Tang, Su Xu, Rao P Gullapalli, Alexandre E Medina

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.8field-weighted citation impact, top 12% 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

10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Animal Models of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026
    Review
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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

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Shiyu TangDepartment of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine , University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
Su XuDepartment of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine , University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
Rao P GullapalliDepartment of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine , University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
Alexandre E MedinaDepartment of Pediatrics , University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.ORCID 0000-0003-0517-7756
University of Maryland, Baltimore · US

Funding

Amplifier Replacement for Slice Electrophysiology StudiesR01AA013023 · NIAAA · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · PI MEDINA, ALEXANDRE ESTEVES · 2001 to 2021
$6.3M
NIAAA NIH HHS R01 AA013023
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundChildren with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) often have deficits associated with multisensory processing. Because ethanol (EtOH) disrupts activity-dependent neuronal plasticity, a process that is essential for refining connections during cortical development, we hypothesize that early alcohol exposure results in alterations in multisensory cortical networks, which could explain the multisensory processing deficits seen in FASD. Here, we use a gyrencephalic animal model to test the prediction that early alcohol exposure alters the functional connectivity and microstructural features of the rostral posterior parietal cortex (PPr), a visual-tactile integrative area.

methodsFerrets were exposed to moderate doses of EtOH during the brain growth spurt period. Functional connectivity and microstructural features were assessed using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and ex vivo diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI), respectively, when the animals reached juvenile age and adulthood, respectively.

resultsWhile the whole brain volume was smaller in alcohol-treated animals, the relative size of the frontal brain area was larger when compared to control animals. Altered functional connectivity was observed in alcohol-treated animals, where increased connectivity was observed between PPr and the region that provides its major visual inputs (the caudal portion of the parietal cortex), but not with the region that provides its major somatosensory inputs (tertiary somatosensory cortex). DKI revealed reduced microstructural tissue complexity in all investigated sensory areas of alcohol-treated animals.

conclusionsIn this study, we observed alterations in cortical functional connectivity and microstructural integrity in a cortical area involved in multisensory processing in a ferret FASD model. These findings indicate an alteration in cortical networks that may be related to the multisensory processing deficiencies observed in FASD.

Indexed as

AgingAnimalsBrainDiffusion Tensor ImagingEthanolFemaleFerretsFunctional NeuroimagingMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleNeural PathwaysOrgan SizeParietal LobeEthanolDiffusion KurtosisFetal Alcohol SyndromeMultisensory SystemsParietal CortexResting-State Functional Connectivity

Identifiers

PMID29438595
PMCPMC5880699
OpenAlexW2970348994

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
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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.