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Cicardian system suffers and protects from prenatal cocaine exposure
July 11, 2007Boston, MA-Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have shown that prenatal cocaine exposure in zebrafish (which share the majority of the same genes with humans) can alter neuronal development and acutely dysregulate the expression of circadian genes and those affecting melatonin signaling, growth and neurotransmission.
The circadian factors, including the principal circadian hormone melatonin, can attenuate the prenatal effects of cocaine. These findings appear in the July 11th issue of the journal PLoS ONE.
Tens of thousands of babies that have been exposed to cocaine in utero are born in the United States each year.
Multiple human studies suggest there are significant changes in brain development and subsequent brain function of children of drug-addicted parents. However, the extent of the damage and whether it is in part due to confounding environmental, genetic or physiological factors remains controversial.
Using a specifically developed zebrafish, the researchers, Drs. Eva Shang and Irina Zhdanova, found that prenatal exposure to cocaine, in concentrations comparable to those experienced by human embryos, altered the neuronal development in zebrafish and acutely changed embryonic expression of genes regulating growth, neurotransmission and circadian system.
"Moreover, we found that the effects of the cocaine exposure were dependent on time of exposure, being more robust in the day, and were blocked or attenuated by the principal circadian hormone, melatonin, produced exclusively at night," said lead author Irina Zhdanova, MD, PhD, an associate professor in the department of anatomy and neurobiology at BUSM. "Thus the circadian system might be at the core of the developmental effects of cocaine and their inter-individual variability," she added.
According to Zhdanova, circadian factors, including melatonin, could provide new therapeutic strategies to counteract the developmental effects of prenatal cocaine exposure.
Boston University
Multiple human studies suggest there are significant changes in brain development and subsequent brain function of children of drug-addicted parents. However, the extent of the damage and whether it is in part due to confounding environmental, genetic or physiological factors remains controversial.
Using a specifically developed zebrafish, the researchers, Drs. Eva Shang and Irina Zhdanova, found that prenatal exposure to cocaine, in concentrations comparable to those experienced by human embryos, altered the neuronal development in zebrafish and acutely changed embryonic expression of genes regulating growth, neurotransmission and circadian system.
"Moreover, we found that the effects of the cocaine exposure were dependent on time of exposure, being more robust in the day, and were blocked or attenuated by the principal circadian hormone, melatonin, produced exclusively at night," said lead author Irina Zhdanova, MD, PhD, an associate professor in the department of anatomy and neurobiology at BUSM. "Thus the circadian system might be at the core of the developmental effects of cocaine and their inter-individual variability," she added.
According to Zhdanova, circadian factors, including melatonin, could provide new therapeutic strategies to counteract the developmental effects of prenatal cocaine exposure.
Boston University
Cocaine exposure during pregnancy leads to impulsivity in male, not female, monkeys
Adult male monkeys exposed to cocaine while in the womb have poor impulse control and may be more vulnerable to drug abuse than female monkeys, even a decade or more after the exposure, according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. The findings could lead to a better understanding of human drug abuse.
BUSM researchers find prenatal cocaine exposure may compromise neurocognitive development
Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that heavier intrauterine cocaine exposure (IUCE) is associated with mild compromise on selective areas of neurocognitive development during middle childhood.
Prenatal cocaine's lasting cellular effects
Although the "crack baby" hysteria of the 1980s was greatly exaggerated, cocaine use during pregnancy can cause subtle but disabling cognitive impairments — attention deficits, learning disabilities and emotional problems.
Prenatal cocaine exposure not linked to bad behavior in kids
oddlers exposed to cocaine before birth exhibit no more behavioral problems than other children their age, despite early predictions that "crack babies" would grow up to be delinquents.
Stressed-Out Moms Think Their Children are More Difficult
Mothers who experience stress from parenting are more likely to perceive their babies as temperamentally difficult, according to a new study by researchers at Bradley Hospital, Brown Medical School and Women & Infants' Hospital.
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Prenatal Cocaine Exposure: Scientific Considerations and Policy Implications by Suzanne Wenzel (Author) New research has shown that children exposed to cocaine before birth are at risk of learning and behavioral problems. Such problems have broad implications for education, social welfare, and criminal justice in the United States. However, there are numerous opportunities to minimize prenatal cocaine exposure and its impacts and thus to enhance the well-being of women and their children. This report, a collaborative effort of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center and the New York Academy of Sciences, presents an overview of the current state of knowledge regarding the effects of cocaine on the developing brain and offers policy considerations for addressing the issues that arise from cocaine use by pregnant women. The report discusses three prevention strategies: primary prevention... |
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Prenatal cocaine exposure and infant cognition [An article from: Infant Behavior and Development] by L.T. Singer (Author), L.J. Eisengart (Author), S. Minnes (Author), J. Noland (Author) This digital document is a journal article from Infant Behavior and Development, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser. Description: The present study examined the relationship of prenatal cocaine exposure to infant information processing in the first year of life. In a prospective, longitudinal study of 177 cocaine-exposed and 175 non-exposed infants, the Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence (FTII) was used to measure attention, visual recognition memory and information processing speed at 6.5 and 12 months of age. Groups were compared over time using mixed linear model analyses. Prenatal cocaine exposure predicted poorer visual... |
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Prenatal alcohol and cocaine exposure: Influences on cognition, speech, language, and hearing [An article from: Journal of Communication Disorders] by B. Cone-Wesson (Author) This digital document is a journal article from Journal of Communication Disorders, published by Elsevier in 2005. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser. Description: This paper reviews research on the consequences of prenatal exposure to alcohol and cocaine on children's speech, language, hearing, and cognitive development. The review shows that cognitive impairment, learning disabilities, and behavioral disorders are the central nervous system manifestations of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), and cranio-facial abnormalities are also present. Delays in language acquisition, as well as receptive and expressive language deficits, are commonly reported. The... |
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Prenatal Cocaine Exposure: The South Looks for Answers (Sacus Special Report, 1991) by Elizabeth F. Shores (Author) | |
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Cocaine exposure and mother-toddler social play [An article from: Infant Behavior and Development] by S.B. Uhlhorn (Author), D.S. Messinger (Author), C.R. Bauer (Author) This digital document is a journal article from Infant Behavior and Development, published by Elsevier in 2005. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser. Description: This study compared the play interactions of 18-month-old cocaine-exposed toddlers and their mothers (n=48) to non-cocaine-exposed comparison toddlers and their mothers (n=77). Coders blind to drug-exposure status reliably coded the interactions for maternal directiveness, positivity, and sensitivity; child social initiative and positivity; and dyadic responsiveness. There were no cocaine exposure group differences on any of the measures, with or without statistical controls for birth weight, SES,... |
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