Focus on: magnetic resonance-based studies of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in animal models.

The imaging techniques magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) provide valuable tools for studying brain structure and neurochemistry in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Although the application of magnetic resonance-based methodologies to the study of FASD in animal models is in its infancy, it already has provided new clinically relevant insights and holds significant promise to further extend our understanding of alcohol's effects on the developing fetus.