# Alcohol in Neocortex Development and Plasticity

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · 2020 · $375,515

## Abstract

Abstract
 Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) often present sensory alterations such as
aversion to multiple sensory stimuli presented at the same time, attention deficits, poor visual-motor
integration, and disrupted general sensory processing. There is growing evidence supporting the idea that
these problems give rise to social problems and learning deficits. Therefore, understanding the effects of
developmental alcohol exposure in the processing of different sensory modalities is crucial to devise
interventions to ameliorate neurobehavioral problems seen in FASD. Multisensory integration (MSI) is a higher
order function in which the combination of inputs from two or more sensory modalities leads to either facilitation
or suppression of neuronal responses. MSI relies on the precise wiring of the individual sensory systems and
then on the accuracy of convergence of these systems to multisensory processing areas. This precision is
acquired by activity-dependent neuronal plasticity processes that include sprouting and pruning of connections.
In the human cortex, most of these plastic changes occur during the third trimester of human gestation.
Ethanol is known to severely affect activity-dependent neuronal plasticity in the cortex. Our overarching
hypothesis is that alcohol exposure during development disrupts the functional and structural connectivity of
multisensory cortical areas altering MSI and contributing to neurobehavioral impairments in FASD. In the
studies proposed here we will use a combination of advanced imaging techniques; in vivo electrophysiology
and a novel ex vivo slice preparation to evaluate the effect of developmental alcohol exposure on the
structural, functional and electrophysiological properties of multisensory cortical areas. Moreover we will test
whether boosting activity-dependent neuronal plasticity would reverse the effects of alcohol on multisensory
processing. The accomplishment of these experiments will make a major and paradigm-shifting contribution
towards the FASD research field.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9926203
- **Project number:** 5R01AA013023-18
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE
- **Principal Investigator:** Alexandre Esteves Medina
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $375,515
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2001-06-01 → 2022-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9926203

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9926203, Alcohol in Neocortex Development and Plasticity (5R01AA013023-18). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9926203. Licensed CC0.

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