Prenatal alcohol exposure and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is caused by exposure of the fetus to alcohol during pregnancy (prenatal alcohol exposure, or PAE). Resulting brain injury can cause lifelong developmental disability, with or without the presence of microcephaly (due to effects on fetal brain growth). Underlying brain structural or functional changes cause the neurodevelopmental disability, and in some individuals, this may be clinically apparent through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain anomalies, electroencephalography (EEG) changes, seizures or other neurological disorders.