Understanding the Brain: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

The brain is a lifelong work in progress. Development takes place most rapidly before birth, maintains a furious pace in infancy and continues briskly through childhood and adolescence, but never ceases altogether. In the third week of gestation, genes switch on to turn some of the embryo’s stem cells — “blank slate” cells with the potential to become any kind of tissue — into neurons and glial support cells. These newly formed cells multiply, migrate and connect with one another, guided by chemical signals into the webwork of brain anatomy. By week seven, primitive forms of the cortex, cerebellum and brainstem are apparent. The overall structure of the brain and nervous system, including virtually all of the cells and a rough outline of the synapses connecting them, is in place at birth. Given the complexity of the task, it’s astonishing how often everything goes right. The great majority of babies are born with a brain primed for sensing, learning, and developing. Brain growth doesn’t end at birth, of course; the prefrontal cortex, for example, will not fully mature until as late as age twenty-two. Yet the overall structure of the brain and nervous system, including virtually all of the cells and a rough outline of the synapses connecting them, is in place at birth. That is, if everything goes right. Not everything does in every pregnancy. There is a long list of things that can go wrong that may have subtle, moderate, or devastating effects on the fetal brain. Among them is exposure to alcohol in the mother’s womb. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs) refer to the whole range of effects that can happen to a person whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. These conditions can affect each person in different ways, and can range from mild to severe. Healing the Brain: Stress, Trauma and Domestic Violence gives readers a view of the remarkable human brain, its capabilities, and its vulnerabilities. A brain compromised by Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is tragic,