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Monday, February 4, 2008

News Release - Eye blinks may help to identify children prenatally exposed to alcohol
3 February 2008

Eye blinks may help to identify children prenatally exposed to alcohol

  • Not all children prenatally exposed to alcohol show distinctive facial anomalies usually associated with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS).
  • New findings indicate that deficits in eyeblink conditioning (EBC) can identify children with probable FAS.
  • EBC may also serve to identify alcohol-exposed children who lack distinctive FAS features.

While children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) have identifiable craniofacial abnormalities, children with alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND) can have significant cognitive impairments without facial anomalies. An important new study has found that a deficit in eyeblink conditioning (EBC) can identify children with probable FAS, and may also serve to identify alcohol-exposed children who lack distinctive FAS features.

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