Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40201449›Full record

ArticleNeurobiology of language (Cambridge, Mass.)2025

The Effects of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure on Structural Brain Connectivity and Early Language Skills in a South African Birth Cohort.

Mohammad Ghasoub, Chloe Scholten, Bryce Geeraert, Xiangyu Long, Shantanu Joshi, Catherine J Wedderburn, Annerine Roos, Sivenesi Subramoney, Nadia Hoffman, Katherine Narr and 5 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Neurobiology of language (Cambridge, Mass.), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. The White Matter Connectome Supporting Speech and Language in the Human.Neurobiology of language (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2025
    Article
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

15 authors.

Mohammad GhasoubAlberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2770-1768
Chloe ScholtenAlberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
Bryce GeeraertAlberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
Xiangyu LongAlberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
Shantanu JoshiAhmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Catherine J WedderburnDivision of Developmental Paediatrics, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Annerine RoosNeuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Sivenesi SubramoneyDivision of Developmental Paediatrics, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Nadia HoffmanDepartment of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Katherine NarrAhmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Roger WoodsAhmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Heather J ZarDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Dan J SteinNeuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Kirsten DonaldDivision of Developmental Paediatrics, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0276-9660
Catherine LebelAlberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0344-4032

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is associated with various neurological, behavioral and cognitive deficits, including reading and language. Previous studies have demonstrated altered white matter in children and adolescents with PAE and associations with reading and language performance in children aged 3 years and older. However, little research has focused on the toddler years, despite this being a critical period for behavioral and neural development. We aimed to determine associations between structural brain connectivity and early language skills in toddlers, in the context of PAE. Eighty-eight toddlers (2-3 yr, 56 males), 23 of whom had PAE, underwent a diffusion MRI scan in Cape Town, South Africa, with language skills assessed using the Expressive and Receptive Communication subtests from the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (BSID-III). Diffusion scans were preprocessed to create a structural network of regions associated with language skills using graph theory analysis. Linear regression models were used to examine moderation effects of PAE on structural network properties and language skills. Toddlers with PAE had higher structural connectivity in language networks than unexposed children. PAE moderated the relationship between structural network properties and Expressive Communication scores. None of the effects survived correction for multiple comparisons. Our findings show weak moderation effects of PAE on structural language network properties and language skills. Our study sheds light on the structural connectivity correlates of early language skills in an understudied population during a critical neurodevelopmental period, laying the foundation for future research.

Indexed as

brain networkconnectomedevelopmentlanguageprenatal alcohol exposure

Identifiers

PMID40201449
PMCPMC11977823

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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.