To assess the impact of first-trimester ethanol consumption on rhesus macaque fetal brain development, we employed anatomical and diffusion MRI to characterize macroscopic as well as cellular-level changes in ethanol exposed fetuses relative to controls at gestation days (G) 110 and G135. At both time points, perturbed brain maturation indicated by decreased brain volume, cortical surface area, and folding was seen in the ethanol exposed group. In addition, a trend for higher cortical water diffusion anisotropy seen in ethanol exposed group at G110 indicates abnormal dendritic differentiation.
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