Riikonen et al. studied a small population of children with FAS using MRI and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) to find specific brain regions of vulnerability following PEA161. Morphological anomalies were observed in 6 of 11 patients by MRI and were both cortical and subcortical. Additionally, volumetric studies of the hippocampus showed morphological left–right asymmetry in 5 of 8 patients with PEA. SPECT however showed only mild hypoperfusion of the left hemisphere in all subjects. The negative left–right index was located especially in the left parieto-occipital region, an area implicated in arithmetical and logical functioning. Normal left–right dominance was also lacking in the frontal area, an area that is also affected in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This suggested to the authors that functional anomalies may be more common than structural abnormalities as a result of PEA in a developing brain161.
