Children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure displayed a more linear trajectory of cortical volume loss without much evidence of age-appropriate volume increases in several cortical areas, including the bilateral inferior parietal, and the left lateral occipital and superior parietal areas, and right postcentral and banks of the superior temporal regions [37]. Additionally, children with prenatal alcohol exposure displayed a greater change in white matter integrity in several tracts including a steeper decline in MD in the superior fronto-occipital, inferior-fronto-occipital, and superior longitudinal fasciculi [38]. The blunted grey matter volume change is suggestive of compromised pruning and diminished plasticity in the cerebral cortex, whereas the steeper reduction in MD may reflect delayed myelination in alcohol-exposed children.
