Structural brain differences and motor functioning in prenatally Methamphetamine exposed children in Cape Town

[摘要] ENGLISH SUMMARY: Rates of methamphetamine use amongst pregnant women in South Africa isalarmingly high, rendering a large number of infants and children at risk for the adverseconsequences of prenatal methamphetamine exposure (PME). Indeed, little is known aboutthe effect of PME on brain and cognitive development in exposed children, especially in lowandmiddle-income settings like South Africa. The aim of the study was to contribute to thesmall, but growing, body of research that focuses on the brain development and motorperformance of prenatally MA exposed children. The objectives were: (1) to examine theeffect of PME on motor development in exposed children at the age of 8 years, compared tounexposed children of the same age; (2) to examine the effect of PME on structural brainvolumes and cortical thicknesses of the brain in exposed children at the age of 8 years,compared to unexposed children; and (3) to investigate whether a correlation exists betweenaltered brain development and motor function. Participants were 8 year old PME children (n= 17), and unexposed children (n=16) recruited from a local school and day care centre in thenorthern suburbs of Cape Town. PME children and unexposed controls completed twoneurocognitive assessments (Beery Visual Motor Integration (VMI) test and GroovedPegboard Test), assessing various aspects of motor function. Both groups also underwentmagnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Independent sample t-tests showed that PME childrenscored significantly lower on measures of visual-motor integration, visual-motor coordinationand fine motor development, when compared to unexposed children. Hierarchical regressionanalysis considering potential confounding anthropometric and socio-demographic variablesand group effects, confirmed that poorer motor scores observed amongst PME children wasas a result of PME. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) by group revealed that PME children hadreduced cortical thickness in several brain areas that were associated with motor function.Overall, the findings of this study contribute to the growing body of literature available on the effect of PME on brain and motor development, especially in the South African context.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University