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Background: Rodent studies have consistently shown that prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) impairs performance on the Morris water maze (MWM), a test of spatial navigation. A previous study comparing boys with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) to controls found poorer performance on the virtual water maze (VWM), a human analogue of the MWM. We examined PAE effects on virtual navigation in both sexes using the VWM in a moderately exposed Detroit cohort (N = 104; mean = 19.4 year) and a heavily exposed Cape Town, South African cohort (N = 62; mean = 10.4 year). Methods: The task requires the participant to learn the location of a hidden platform in a virtual pool of water. The set of acquisition trials requires the participant to learn the location of the hidden platform and to return to that location repeatedly. The single‐probe trial requires the participant to return to that location without knowing that the platform has been removed. Results: No effects of FASD diagnostic group or PAE were detected on virtual navigation in the Detroit moderately exposed cohort. By contrast, in the more heavily exposed Cape Town cohort, the FAS/partial FAS (PFAS) group took longer to locate the hidden platform during acquisition than nonsyndromal heavily exposed (HE) and control groups, an effect that persisted even after controlling for IQ. Among boys, both the FAS/PFAS and HE groups performed more poorly than controls during acquisition, and both boys and girls born to women who binge drank performed more poorly than those born to abstainers/light drinkers. Both amount and frequency of PAE were related to poorer performance during the probe trial at 10 years of age. Conclusions: These data demonstrate deficits in spatial navigation among heavily exposed syndromal boys and girls and in nonsyndromal exposed boys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Fetal alcohol-related growth restriction persists through infancy, but its impact later in life is less clear. Animal studies have demonstrated important roles for maternal nutrition in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, but the impact of prenatal maternal body composition has not been studied in humans. This study examined the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on longitudinal growth from birth through young adulthood and the degree to which maternal weight and body mass index ( BMI) moderate these effects. Methods Nearly 480 mothers were recruited at their first prenatal clinic visit to overrepresent moderate-to-heavy use of alcohol during pregnancy, including a 5% random sample of low-level drinkers and abstainers. They were interviewed at every prenatal visit about their alcohol consumption using a timeline follow-back approach. Their children were examined for weight, length/height, and head circumference at birth, 6.5 and 13 months, and 7.5, 14, and 19 years. Results In multiple regression models with repeated measures (adjusted for confounders), prenatal alcohol exposure was associated with longitudinal reductions in weight, height, and weight-for-length/ BMI that were largely determined at birth. At low-to-moderate levels of exposure, these effects were more severe in infancy than in later childhood. By contrast, effects persisted among children whose mothers drank at least monthly and among those born to women with alcohol abuse and/or dependence who had consumed ≥ 4 drinks/occasion. In addition, effects on weight, height, and head circumference were markedly stronger among children born to mothers with lower prepregnancy weight. Conclusions These findings confirm prior studies demonstrating alcohol-related reductions in weight, height, weight-for-height/ BMI, and head circumference that persist through young adulthood. Stronger effects were seen among children born to mothers with smaller prepregnancy weight, which may have been because of attainment of higher blood alcohol concentrations in smaller mothers for a given amount of alcohol intake or to increased vulnerability in infants born to women with poorer nutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]