Fetal-alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) can be identified using an eye-blink test when children have been exposed to alcohol in the womb but don't exhibit the classic facial malformations associated with FASD, HealthDay News reported Feb. 4.

Eyeblink conditioning (EBC) pairs stimuli like sound and air puffs to measure reaction time and brain functioning. Researchers administered EBC to 98 five-year-olds and found that EBC deficits were linked to fetal alcohol exposure.

"Animal studies have shown that binge consumption of alcohol during pregnancy impairs EBC," said researcher Sandra W. Jacobson of Wayne State University's School of Medicine. "Our results show that there was a dose-response relation between alcohol exposure and FASD diagnosis and that a fundamental element of learning is affected by prenatal alcohol exposure."

"This study clearly links one brain area to the learning deficits experienced by FAS children, whether or not they have physical manifestations of the condition, and thus can provide a basis for the development of remediation programs," added Lynn T. Singer of Case Western Reserve University.

"Second, since normal human infants reach functional capacity on the EBC response by five months of age, and since the EBC deficit appears to be so sensitive, infants at risk can be identified early in life, and intervention programs can begin when the plasticity of the brain is greatest and have the strongest effect."

The findings were published in the February 2008 issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.