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Preclinical and clinical research strongly supports the avoidance of alcohol in pregnancy. For example, in animals, the equivalent of a single drink produces irreversible neuronal death (Neurobiol Dis 2006; 22:548), and rats exposed to alcohol in utero have enhanced responses to its taste and smell (JW Psychiatry May 11 2009). In a well-designed prospective study in humans, four or more drinks on a single occasion during pregnancy was associated with greater conduct and hyperactivity impairments in girls at 47 months and both sexes at 81 months (JW Psychiatry May 11 2009).
To expand this database in people, researchers retrospectively sought to examine the behavioral and cognitive effects of gestational alcohol exposure; the investigators us…