FASD in San Diego and Moscow (U01 Research Project)

描述（由申请人提供）：当前的提案是对RFA-AA-03-002的回应，是题为“FASD的跨文化评估”的联合申请的一部分。该RFA部分要求“研究以更好地定义和描述FASD的特征”，包括确定该人群的核心缺陷。本申请通过提出旨在在两个国家（美国和俄罗斯）的两个儿童样本中鉴定患有胎儿酒精综合征和胎儿酒精谱系障碍（FASD）的儿童的核心神经心理学和神经解剖学特征的研究来满足该目标。 30年的研究和实践已经证实：（1）酒精是一种致畸剂;（2）大脑是对酒精影响最敏感的器官;（3）酒精的影响具有持续性。剩下的问题是，核心缺陷和优势的轮廓是否存在，这个轮廓告诉我们大脑的潜在功能，以及其他环境条件（如生活环境或一般智力功能）是否可以解释这些影响。目前的建议包括神经心理学和脑成像研究，旨在表征FASD表型。重要的是，将评估两个不同的人群，加州圣地亚哥的儿童和俄罗斯莫斯科的儿童。纳入这两个群体将使我们能够回答有关环境，文化和一般智力功能在FASD表型中的作用的重要问题。莫斯科的儿童将主要从寄宿学校和收容智力低下儿童的幼儿园中确定。我们之前已经确定该人群中FAS的发生率非常高。圣地亚哥的儿童将从SDSU行为畸形学中心正在进行的FASD研究中确定。因此，我们有独特的机会来研究大群儿童中FASD，IQ和生活环境之间的关系。 除了上述独特的方面，目前的应用程序与联盟中的其他应用程序相结合，允许在几个国际地点使用一致的措施对大量患有FASD的儿童进行检查。来自这些多个站点的数据的融合的机会提供了巨大的力量来测试关于FASD表型的特定假设。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The current proposal is in response to RFA-AA-03-002 and is part of the consortium application, entitled "Cross-Cultural Assessment of FASD." This RFA calls for, in part, "research to better define and characterize the description of FASD" including identification of core deficits in this population. The current application meets this goal by proposing research aimed at identifying core neuropsychological and neuroanatomical features in children with fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) in two samples of children in two countries, the United States and Russia. Thirty years of research and practice have confirmed that (1) alcohol is a teratogen, (2) the brain is the organ most sensitive to alcohol's effects, and (3) the effects are of a continuous nature. Questions that remain pertain to whether a profile of core deficits and strengths exists, what this profile tells us about the underlying function of the brain, and whether effects can be accounted for by other environmental circumstances like living environment or general intellectual functioning. The current proposal includes both neuropsychological and brain imaging studies and is aimed at characterizing an FASD phenotype. Importantly, two distinct populations will be assessed, children in San Diego, California, and children in Moscow, Russia. The inclusion of these two populations will allow us to answer important questions relating to the role of environment, culture, and general intellectual functioning in the phenotype of FASD. Children in Moscow will primarily be ascertained from boarding schools and orphanages that house children with subnormal intellectual functioning. We have previously determined the rates of FAS in this population are very high. Children in San Diego will be ascertained from ongoing studies of FASD at the SDSU Center for Behavioral Teratology. Thus, we have the unique opportunity to examine the relationship between FASD, IQ, and living environment in large groups of children. In addition to the unique aspects mentioned above, the current application dovetails with other applications in the consortium, allowing large groups of children with FASD to be examined in several international sites using consistent measures. The opportunity for convergence of data from these multiple sites provides tremendous power to test specific hypotheses regarding the phenotype of FASD.