# C3-Neural oscillations in visual cognitive deficits

> **NIH NIH P50** · UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HEALTH SCIS CTR · 2024 · $207,561

## Abstract

The cognitive and behavioral effects of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) have broad, lifelong impacts on
individuals with a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), with fewer than half of individuals with an FASD
able to live independently as adults. Combined with the current prevalence estimates of FASD, at up to 5% of
the population in the United States, this leads to considerable societal costs. Despite this disease burden,
there are no pharmaceutical agents and few interventions specific to FASD. This project will facilitate forward
and backward translation between animal and human models with a long-term goal of guiding development of
interventions to alleviate the effects of PAE. Neural oscillations are ubiquitous in mammalian brains and are
measurable using local field potentials and noninvasive measures. Using magnetoencephalography in
adolescents 12-16 years of age, this clinical project will elicit neural oscillations in two cognitive tasks and
rest, which have been reliably used in both rodent and human models, and assess structural connectivity
using diffusion tensor imaging. We have shown previously that alpha oscillations are altered due to PAE
during rest and alpha power was linked to cortico-thalamic connectivity in younger individuals with an FASD.
We hypothesize that these alterations in alpha oscillations persist into adolescence and are related to cortico-
thalamic connectivity as examined in Component 4 (functional connectivity) and Component 6 (structural
connectivity). We have previously identified altered gamma oscillations in adolescents with an FASD in basic
sensory tasks and here we hypothesize that gamma alterations will be evident during cognitive tasks and
related to cognitive effects of PAE that persist into adolescence. In aim 1, we will test these hypotheses by
quantifying the group differences of alpha and gamma oscillations during performance of a visual spatial
working memory task, a set-shifting task, and during rest. In aim 2 we will test the underlying mechanisms
related to altered neural oscillations using the Human Neocortical Neurosolver computational model designed
to model noninvasive population responses measured with MEG. We hypothesize that altering cortico-
thalamic model parameters will alter alpha oscillations in line with empirical findings. We further hypothesize
that altering excitatory/inhibitory input parameters due to the effects of PAE on inhibitory interneurons will best
match alterations in gamma oscillations measured empirically. Finally, aim 3 will examine the effects of
chronic stress, often experienced by individuals with an FASD, on alpha and gamma oscillations to gain a
broader understanding of how environment combines with the effects of PAE to alter brain function in
adolescence. This aim will align with Component 5. This innovative project is the first to link noninvasive
measures of neural oscillations to PAE preclinical studies using similar tasks, the first to apply a biophysic...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10741689
- **Project number:** 2P50AA022534-11
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HEALTH SCIS CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** JULIA MARIE STEPHEN
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $207,561
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2014-08-05 → 2029-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10741689

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10741689, C3-Neural oscillations in visual cognitive deficits (2P50AA022534-11). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10741689. Licensed CC0.

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