195911 Attention and Motor Correlates in Children with IUDE

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Larry Darnell Keen II, MS , Family Center at Kennedy Krieger Institute, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD
Harolyn Belcher, MD , Kennedy Krieger Family Center/Johns Hopkins Department of Pediatrics, Kennedy Krieger Insitute, Baltimore, MD
Marcy Adler , Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD
Walter E. Kaufmann, MD , Neurology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD
Stewart Mostofsky, MD , Neurology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD
Over 220,000 children were born with intrauterine illicit drug exposure (IUDE) in the United States in 2007. IUDE is associated with adverse neuroanatomical and neurobehavioral outcomes. IUDE has been linked to deficits in selective attention and reduced prefrontal, motor, anterior cingulate and somatosensory regional volumes. The purpose of this study is to examine the associations between frontal and parietal lobe volumes and visual attention and motor function in children with IUDE. Children were identified with IUDE by maternal self-report, prenatal medical records, maternal toxicology screens at delivery, and/or positive infant urine toxicology screen within 24 hours after birth. High-resolution Magnetic Resonance Images using a 1.5 T scanner were acquired on 41 children with IUDE (28 males and 13 females), mean age 8.1 years (S.D. = 0.9). Participants completed the Physical and Neurological Examination of Subtle Signs (PANESS) (n=20), the Gordon Delay Task (GDT) and the Gordon Vigilance Task (GVT) (n=13). Total PANESS scores were significantly correlated with left primary motor (ρ= -0.45, p =0.045) and anterior cingulate (ρ= -0.46, p= 0.039) volumes. Left anterior cingulate volumes were significantly correlated with total percent correct on the GVT (ρ= 0.612, p = 0.01). The findings suggest that localized reductions in cerebral volume contribute to functional impairment in children with IUDE. Motor dysfunction in this cohort of children with IUDE is associated with decreased volume in the left motor cortex and anterior cingulate while function in visual attention is associated with left anterior cingulate volume.

Learning Objectives:
1.) To identify associations between cerebral volume and function in children with Intrauterine Illicit Drug Exposure (IUDE). 2.) To increase understanding of the association(s) between cerebral volume reductions and motor function in children with IUDE. 3.) To increase understanding of the association(s) between cerebral volume reductions and visual attention in children with IUDE.

Keywords: Maternal and Child Health, Substance Abuse

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to be an abstract Author on the content I am responsible for because I performed the data management and analysis on this project.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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