Abnormal Age-Related Changes in Diffusion and Anisotropy in the Thalamus and Genu Suggest Abnormal Brain Development in Infants Exposed to Stimulants in Utero

Lynn Michelle Anderson¹, Linda Chang¹, Steven Buchthal¹, Christine Cloak¹, Aaron Hoo¹, Brian Keating¹, Jeffrey Sadino¹, Thomas Ernst¹

The effects of in utero stimulant-exposure (METH and nicotine) on brain white matter microstructural development were evaluated in newborns using DTI, and without sedation. Overall, normal, age-related increases in fractional anisotropy (FA), as well as age-related decline in mean, radial and axial diffusivity were observed in both groups. However, the stimulant-exposed group showed less steep slopes in age-related development in the thalamic FA, and mean and radial diffusion, as compared to the non-exposed group. Infants exposed to stimulants in utero may have slower age-related axonal growth and myelination in the thalamus than non-stimulant exposed infants.