Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Publication Date

Spring 7-30-2022

Abstract

While the lifelong difficulties that result from alcohol exposure in utero are well documented, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) remain the most common neurodevelopmental syndrome. FASD patients struggle with executive control including attention, cognitive control, reward learning, and impulsivity. These self-regulation problems contribute to increased rates of school expulsion, incarceration, and substance use disorders. However, it is still unclear how prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) affects executive control processes that lead to inappropriate behavior later in life. Here we examined the effect of PAE on 4 aspects of executive functioning paired with intervention or with translatable EEG-like recording, 1) control over reward seeking 2) cognitive control 3) physical effort and 4) reward learning. Here we demonstrate clear alterations in behavior in our moderate PAE model in areas of executive control that can be improved with a simple intervention and are detectable in highly translatable EEG-like signal for task-relevant neural signatures.

Keywords

PAE, EEG, Attention, Cognitive Control, Physical Effort

Document Type

Dissertation

Language

English

Degree Name

Biomedical Sciences

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program

First Committee Member (Chair)

Jonatan L Brigman

Second Committee Member

James Cavanagh

Third Committee Member

C. Fernando Valenzuela

Fourth Committee Member

Russell Morton

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