Associations Between Prenatal Biological Environmental Factors and Brain Development in Infancy

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Brain development during the prenatal period is rapid and unparalleled by any other developmental period. Biological systems undergoing rapid development are at higher risk for disorganizing influences. Therefore, disorganizing influences such as prenatal exposures to certain biological environmental factors (e.g. drug exposures, maternal health factors), may impact brain development and increase risk for neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. Recently, neuroimaging has provided the ability to examine associations between prenatal biological environmental factors and infant brain development by measuring brain structure and function early in development to mitigate the effects of postnatal influences. In this symposium, we focus on three studies examining how prenatal biological environmental factors may shape infant brain development. The first study examines group differences in neonatal brain structure for a group of infants that experienced prenatal cannabis exposure and a control group. The second study provides an overview of six different drug types (i.e., opioids, cocaine, marijuana, alcohol, nicotine, and SSRIs) and their associations with early functional brain development. This study will also present an imaging-based prediction framework for identifying behavioral outliers later in development. The third study focuses on associations between body mass index and nutrition and infant brain functional connectivity. A discussant will facilitate a discussion around the current state of this area of research and future directions regarding prenatal biological environmental factors and infant brain development. This symposium highlights the potential of brain-based markers of prenatal biological environmental factors for understanding and targeting efforts to reduce the associations between these factors and mental health risk.

Sub Unit

• Biological Processes: Neuroscience and Genetics

Chairs

• Pilyoung Kim, University of Denver

• Alexander Dufford, Northwestern University

Discussant

• John H. Gilmore, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Individual Presentations

• Prenatal Cannabis Exposure and Brain Surface Morphometry in Neonates - Presenting Author: Alexander Dufford, Northwestern University; Non-Presenting Author: Elizabeth Stickrath, Denver Health Medical Center; Non-Presenting Author: Christine Conageski, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; Non-Presenting Author: Jocelyn Phipers, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; Non-Presenting Author: Peter Fried; Non-Presenting Author: Erika Iisa, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; Non-Presenting Author: Tessa Crume, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; Non-Presenting Author: Pilyoung Kim, University of Denver

• Prenatal Drug Exposure and Early Brain Development: Their Relationships, Behavioral Implications, and Brain-Based Prediction of Risks - Presenting Author: Wei Gao, Cedars Sinai Medical Center

• Maternal Pre-pregnancy body mass index is associated with fetal growth, neonatal brain connectivity, and toddler adaptive skills - Non-Presenting Author: Marisa N. Spann, Columbia University; Presenting Author: Dustin Scheinost, Yale School of Medicine; Non-Presenting Author: Catherine Monk, Columbia University Irving Medical Center; Non-Presenting Author: Bradley S. Peterson, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles