Previous research on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) has identified common physical and behavioural characteristics associated with children who were prenatally exposed to alcohol. The research suggests that many individuals with FASD have experienced involvement with the law, and engaged in inappropriate sexual behaviour. However, there would appear to be a scarcity of research that identifies the life histories of individuals with FASD who have engaged in inappropriate sexual behaviour. Identifying risk and protective factors towards positive outcomes for people with FASD has both individual and societal importance. In order to better understand individuals with FASD, this research paper explores the common characteristics of FASD which may lead to inappropriate sexual behaviour, such as deficits in social skills, self-regulation, and executive functioning. Another important characteristic that is explored in the research paper is how FASD can present as an invisible disability, and the risk associated with treatment of individuals who may not be identified as having organic brain damage, specifically in the criminal justice system. As the research on FASD is limited, this paper also explores the characteristics associated with the general population of people who have engaged in inappropriate sexual behaviour, and people with disabilities who have displayed challenging sexual behaviour. The comparison of populations of people engaging in inappropriate sexual behaviour highlights the importance of the responsivity of interventions. Despite the diagnostic label of “paraphilia” attributed to those who have been convicted of sexual crimes, each individual is a complex being. Responsivity indicates each individual must be holistically understood in order to design services that encourage individual change.

Background: The central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction resulting from prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is the most debilitating aspect of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). Affected children exhibit numerous cognitive and behavioural deficits which can severely affect quality of life. As the diagnosis of FASDs often requires specially trained physicians, there is a need for sensitive and specific tools that screen PAE-related CNS dysfunction in order to identify individuals who require further consultation. Additionally, objective measures of intervention end-points are critical to assess potential treatments for this population. As saccadic eye movement behaviours reflect the integrity of multiple brain structures, a battery of oculomotor tasks may serve both these functions. This study sought to test the hypothesis that oculomotor performance in FASD would differ from typically developing children and would allow the objective measure of cognitive improvements resulting from a strength-based motor skills intervention. Methods: A cohort of 31 children with FASD, and 31 age- and sex-matched controls completed prosaccade, antisaccade, delayed memory-guided sequential (DMS) and predictive eye movement tasks. Additionally, a selection of these children were involved in an intervention study and therefore tested on three separate occasions using the eye movement tasks and computerized neuropsychological tests. Results: Compared to controls, children with FASDs elicited increased direction and anticipatory errors in the antisaccade task, increased timing and sequence errors in the DMS task, and increased anticipatory and decreased express saccades in the predictive task. The FASD group also exhibited an increase in the error of saccade trajectories in the pro- and antisaccade tasks, in addition to increased velocities of visually-guided saccades in the predictive task. Furthermore, those involved in the intervention study improved in measures of response inhibition in the DMS task. Conclusion: This study indicates that frontostriatal and cerebellar dysfunction can be assessed in children with FASDs using a battery of eye movement tasks. In addition, children involved in the strength-based motor skills intervention improved in the ability to perform complex oculomotor tasks. These findings suggest that select eye movement tasks may be utilized to identify CNS dysfunction in FASD and to measure cognitive improvements resulting from behavioural interventions. / Thesis (Master, Neuroscience Studies) -- Queen's University, 2010-08-17 09:55:59.382

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Optimal maternal nutritional status is required for development of a healthy infant. Drinking during pregnancy puts mothers at risk for nutrient deficiencies, endangering the health of the fetus and increasing the risk of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). The current body of research has focused on interventions using nutrients important to fetal brain development (choline, DHA, folate, vitamin A, zinc) to reduce FASD in animal models. Whether mothers at risk for having a baby with FASD are consuming adequate amounts of these nutrients during pregnancy is unknown, due to a lack of sufficient research data. Therefore, this study aims to identify intake of nutrients important to fetal brain development in pregnant mothers. Through community engagement and partnerships with Mount Carmel Clinic and other prenatal programs located in Point Douglas and Downtown Winnipeg, 56 pregnant women were recruited and interviewed. Findings show that intake of certain nutrients important to fetal brain development are not being consumed in recommended amounts. While most participants met the Dietary Reference Intakes for zinc and vitamin A, only 44.6% met recommendations for folate, 48.2% for choline, and 16.1% for DHA. Dietary intake was not significantly different between women with alcohol exposure during pregnancy and those without. These results are important due to the high rate (46%) of women with prenatal alcohol exposure. Study outcomes may provide future nutrition interventions to enhance the health of mothers consuming alcohol during pregnancy and their infants, potentially reducing the effects of FASD. / October 2016

Structural brain changes occur in a complex manner throughout life, and understanding healthy brain development is crucial for the study of brain abnormalities in various conditions. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is an advanced magnetic resonance imaging technique that provides information about tissue microstructure not accessible via conventional imaging methods. In this dissertation, DTI is used to assess typical brain development, brain abnormalities in fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), and relationships between cognition and brain structure in both populations. Cross-sectional and longitudinal DTI studies were used to measure brain maturation from childhood to adulthood. Significant, nonlinear changes of diffusion parameters were noted across the brain, with regional variation in the timing and magnitude of development. Most regions experienced rapid maturation during childhood and adolescence, reached a developmental peak during adulthood, and then, during senescence, underwent a reversal of structural changes that occurred more gradually than the initial development. The genu and splenium of the corpus callosum had the earliest development, while frontal-temporal connections and the corticospinal tracts showed the most prolonged maturation trajectories. DTI was also used to examine brain abnormalities in children with FASD, an acquired brain disorder associated with numerous cognitive, behavioural, and emotional difficulties. DTI revealed widespread differences in children with FASD when compared to healthy controls, suggesting extensive structural brain damage. Finally, significant relationships between cognitive abilities and brain structure were observed in both populations. Brain lateralization of a frontal-temporal pathway correlated with two specific cognitive abilities in typically-developing children. Additionally, a significant relationship between brain structure and mathematical ability was observed in the left parietal lobe of children with FASD. Preliminary results demonstrating reading-brain structure correlations in both healthy and FASD groups are also presented. In conclusion, DTI has shown significant age-related changes in the typically-developing human brain, abnormalities in children with FASD, and correlations between brain structure and cognition in both populations. Normative DTI studies such as the ones presented here are important to establish healthy milestones of brain development and degradation, which may then be used to understand abnormalities in a variety of conditions, including FASD.

In this thesis I used Caenorhabitis elegans as a model of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) to study the physical and behavioral effects of ethanol exposure during embryonic development. Davis et al. (2008) found that ethanol exposure during larval development in C. elegans produced physical/developmental and behavioral effects; however, whether exposure during embryonic development might produce similar outcomes remained to be elucidated. Because the type and degree of effects caused by developmental ethanol exposure was dependent on the pattern of ethanol treatment, in the first part of the thesis I investigated the physical/developmental effects of embryonic exposure to various ethanol doses, exposure durations, onsets and frequencies. I found that exposure to >30% ethanol for an hour during embryonic development was necessary to lower hatch rate, delay reproductive onset, and reduce body size in C. elegans. Furthermore, exposure during early embryonic development caused a larger effect than exposure during later stages, and multiple exposures produced a worse outcome than a single exposure for a comparable duration. In the second part of the thesis, I investigated locomotory activities and habituation of adult C. elegans exposed to various patterns of embryonic ethanol treatment. I found that the rate of locomotion was altered differently by chronic and acute embryonic ethanol exposure, but I did not find any effect in short- or long-term habituation. In summary, I have characterized the pattern of embryonic ethanol exposure necessary to produce physical/developmental effects in C. elegans, and identified the types of exposure conditions that would cause worse outcomes than others; in addition, I have found that embryonic ethanol exposure affects the rate of locomotion in C. elegans. In this thesis, I have established a foundation for the future investigation into the physical and motor defects caused by embryonic ethanol exposure in C. elegans.

Northern British Columbian Aboriginal mothers raising adolescents with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) face many challenges. This interpretive ethnography provides an understanding of how these mothers interpreted and responded to their adolescents' FASD. It affirms the experiences of Aboriginal mothers and acknowledges their life stories and those of their adolescent children.The concepts of vulnerability, marginalization, and mothering, conceptualized within the theoretical perspectives of postcolonialism, provided the framework for this study. Postcolonial perspectives were particularly relevant to this research: the explicit aftereffects of colonialism on the well-being of Aboriginal women have shaped the worldview of mainstream society resulting in marginalization and stigmatization. A postcolonial perspective suggests that FASD is a problem compounded by colonization; until the underlying compounding issues are addressed, the incidence of FASD among Aboriginal people will continue to increase.English-speaking Aboriginal women with one or more children between the ages of 14 and 18 years affected by FASD were recruited for the study. Appropriate measures were taken to ensure trustworthiness, verisimilitude, and legitimacy. Data collection included three sequential audio-recorded interviews with eight women over a specific time. Interview data were enhanced by document review, intervals of observation participation, and the examination of other historically and culturally relevant data.The interpretive theory derived from the data, Mothering from the Margins, explains how Aboriginal mothers raise their adolescent children who have FASD. The theory provides a perspective that enables nurses to view mothers with adolescents affected by FASD in an all-encompassing manner, and unifies the experiences of participants mothering adolescents with FASD. Aboriginal mothers of adolescents with FASD continue to experience societal blame and marginalization for consuming alcohol during pregnancy. This study extends the knowledge of how this blaming and marginalization experience plays out in the lives of both mothers and children. The findings debunk the stereotypical myth that Aboriginal mothers are not good mothers. In fact, the findings from this study demonstrate how, despite all the difficulties and challenges faced by study participants, they have demonstrated adaptability, confidence, and care in their mothering roles.

In this thesis I used Caenorhabitis elegans as a model of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) to study the physical and behavioral effects of ethanol exposure during embryonic development. Davis et al. (2008) found that ethanol exposure during larval development in C. elegans produced physical/developmental and behavioral effects; however, whether exposure during embryonic development might produce similar outcomes remained to be elucidated. Because the type and degree of effects caused by developmental ethanol exposure was dependent on the pattern of ethanol treatment, in the first part of the thesis I investigated the physical/developmental effects of embryonic exposure to various ethanol doses, exposure durations, onsets and frequencies. I found that exposure to >30% ethanol for an hour during embryonic development was necessary to lower hatch rate, delay reproductive onset, and reduce body size in C. elegans. Furthermore, exposure during early embryonic development caused a larger effect than exposure during later stages, and multiple exposures produced a worse outcome than a single exposure for a comparable duration. In the second part of the thesis, I investigated locomotory activities and habituation of adult C. elegans exposed to various patterns of embryonic ethanol treatment. I found that the rate of locomotion was altered differently by chronic and acute embryonic ethanol exposure, but I did not find any effect in short- or long-term habituation. In summary, I have characterized the pattern of embryonic ethanol exposure necessary to produce physical/developmental effects in C. elegans, and identified the types of exposure conditions that would cause worse outcomes than others; in addition, I have found that embryonic ethanol exposure affects the rate of locomotion in C. elegans. In this thesis, I have established a foundation for the future investigation into the physical and motor defects caused by embryonic ethanol exposure in C. elegans.

The current document is a paper-based thesis investigating the lived experiences of parents raising children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) in Ontario, Canada. Historically, researchers have approached the exploration of families with the notion that families of children with a developmental disability would present with a pathological profile. However, a recent paradigm shift has transitioned the focus from deficit-based outcomes to those that highlight positive outcomes. Therefore, the first paper included is a qualitative analysis of factors that facilitate family adaptation. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to analyze semi-structured interviews with parents of children with FASD. Parents utilize a number of coping strategies, supports, and transformational outcomes that enable them to adapt to raising their child with FASD. The second paper included is also a qualitative analysis examining demands that hinder family adaptation. Parents discussed five stressors that hinder successful family adaptation. Recommendations from parents of children with FASD and implications for increasing knowledge and awareness of the disability are discussed.

This research explored the risk and protective factors associated with criminality among adults with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). While previous research has focused on identifying the factors that contribute to legal issues, there is a paucity of research on the protective factors that may lead to more positive outcomes for adults with FASD. The first paper examined the methodological issues encountered while conducting a mixed methods study on the experience of offenders and non-offenders with FASD. Difficulties with participant recruitment, the sample size, the terminology employed, and the appropriateness of psychometric measures were significant challenges that emerged during the research project. The second paper was a qualitative study that investigated the experience of adults with prenatal alcohol exposure and their families to determine the risk and protective factors for criminality. Families reported that neurobehavioural impairments such as difficulty with self-regulation and social skills deficits, combined with environmental demands that exceeded the capabilities of the individual with FASD, were important contributors to criminality. However, structure and supervision, education and employment, social and financial support, and positive peer influence were found to mitigate the risk of criminal behavior among adults with FASD. The findings from this thesis highlight the importance of including families in the research process as well as the need to have more family-centered services.