Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are one of the most common causes of birth defects worldwide and are particularly prevalent in some South African communities. A team of researchers led by Sandra W. Jacobson and Joseph L. Jacobson, professors of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences in Wayne State University's School of Medicine, received a $413,440 grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health to conduct a new study designed to improve the diagnosis of FASDs. The research "is addressing a critical research area that currently lacks specific diagnostic criteria and an understanding of the neural structures that underlie specific cognitive deficits due to repeated fetal alcohol exposure," said Hilary Ratner, vice president for research at Wayne State University.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2011/12/05/wayne-state-gets-grant-to-study-fetal-alcohol-disorders/
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-12/wsu--wsr120511.php