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Background: People with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) often have structural or functional alterations of the central nervous system, including changes in brain network organization. These have been associated with neuropsychological deficits, but outcomes are not consistent across studies. We used a rat model of FASD to assess brain network alterations in males and females following ethanol exposure during a prenatal period similar to the first half of gestation in humans. Methods: Pregnant Long Evans rats were given an ethanol‐containing or isocaloric non‐ethanol diet from gestation day 6 to 20. Resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed on offspring in young adulthood. Graph theoretical analysis was used to assess properties associated with the whole brain network organization, with a focus on segregation, integration, and small‐world organization—a feature which allows specialized local information processing (segregation) and simultaneously efficient global information sharing (integration). Results: Ethanol‐exposed females showed a significant decrease in small‐worldness compared with control females or with ethanol‐exposed males. Compared to control females, the proportion of animals with atypically high path length (1 standard deviation higher than the grand average) was significantly higher in ethanol‐exposed females, indicating that the alteration in small‐world organization is driven by decreased network integration. No significant effects were seen in males. Conclusion: The results revealed that prenatal ethanol exposure disrupts the balance between network segregation and integration in young adult female rats. The whole brain network is less integrated after ethanol exposure in the females, suggesting wide‐spread reduction of long‐range regional communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Bidirectional effects between cognition and pain have been extensively reported. Although brain regions involved in cognitive and pain processing seem to partly overlap, it is unknown what specific brain regions are involved in the interaction between pain and cognition. Furthermore, the role of gonadal hormones on these interacting effects has not been examined. This study investigated brain activation patterns of the interaction between pain and cognition over different phases of the naturally occurring menstrual cycle. Methods: Fifteen healthy normally cycling females were examined over the course of 4 different cycle phases. Sensory stimulation was applied using electrical pulses and cognitive performance was assessed using the Multi‐Source Interference Task. Brain imaging consisted of functional magnetic resonance imaging using a repeated measures ANOVA group analysis approach. Results: Sensory stimulation was found to interact with task performance in the left precuneus, left posterior cingulate cortex and right inferior parietal lobule. No effects of cycle phase were observed to interact with main effects of stimulation, task or interaction effects between task performance and sensory stimulation. Conclusion: Potential neural correlates of shared resources between pain and cognition were demonstrated providing further insights into the potential mechanisms behind cognitive performance difficulties in pain patients and opening avenues for new treatment options including targeting specific cognitive factors in pain treatment such as cognitive interference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]