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Mizoguchi H, Yamada K. Methamphetamine use causes cognitive impairment and altered decision-making. Neurochem Int 2019; 124:106-113. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuint.2018.12.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2018] [Revised: 12/20/2018] [Accepted: 12/31/2018] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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CNS metabolism in high-risk drug abuse. Radiologe 2018; 58:34-39. [DOI: 10.1007/s00117-017-0255-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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ZNS-Stoffwechsel bei Missbrauch von Hochrisikodrogen. Radiologe 2017; 57:443-449. [DOI: 10.1007/s00117-017-0254-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Santoro GC, Shukla S, Patel K, Kaczmarzyk J, Agorastos S, Scherrer S, Choi YY, Veith C, Carrion J, Silverman R, Mullin D, Ahmed M, Schiffer WK, Brodie JD, Dewey SL. A Novel Strategy for Attenuating Opioid Withdrawal in Neonates. JOURNAL OF ADDICTION RESEARCH & THERAPY 2017; 7. [PMID: 28078167 PMCID: PMC5222617 DOI: 10.4172/2155-6105.1000291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The rate of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) has drastically increased over the past decade. The average hospital expense per NAS patient has tripled, while the number of babies born to opioid-dependent mothers has increased to 5 in 1000 births. Current treatment options are limited to opioid replacement and tapering. Consequently, we examined the efficacy of prenatal, low-dose and short-term vigabatrin (γ-vinyl GABA, GVG) exposure for attenuating these symptoms as well as the metabolic changes observed in the brains of these animals upon reaching adolescence. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were treated in one of four ways: 1) saline; 2) morphine alone; 3) morphine+GVG at 25 mg/kg; 4) morphine+GVG at 50 mg/kg. Morphine was administered throughout gestation, while GVG administration occurred only during the last 5 days of gestation. On post-natal day 1, naloxone-induced withdrawal behaviours were recorded in order to obtain a gross behaviour score. Approximately 28 days following birth, 18FDG microPET scans were obtained on these same animals (Groups 1, 2, and 4). Morphine-treated neonates demonstrated significantly higher withdrawal scores than saline controls. However, GVG at 50 but not 25 mg/kg/day significantly attenuated them. Upon reaching adolescence, morphine treated animals showed regionally specific changes in 18FDG uptake. Again, prenatal GVG exposure blocked them. These data demonstrate that low-dose, short-term prenatal GVG administration blocks naloxone-induced withdrawal in neonates. Taken together, these preliminary findings suggest that GVG may provide an alternative and long-lasting pharmacologic approach for the management of neonatal and adolescent symptoms associated with NAS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni C Santoro
- Center for Neurosciences, Laboratory for Molecular and Behavioural Neuroimaging, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA
| | - Samarth Shukla
- Center for Neurosciences, Laboratory for Molecular and Behavioural Neuroimaging, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA; Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Cohen Children's Medical Center of NY, New Hyde Park, NY, USA
| | - Krishna Patel
- Center for Neurosciences, Laboratory for Molecular and Behavioural Neuroimaging, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA
| | - Jakub Kaczmarzyk
- Center for Neurosciences, Laboratory for Molecular and Behavioural Neuroimaging, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA
| | - Stergiani Agorastos
- Center for Neurosciences, Laboratory for Molecular and Behavioural Neuroimaging, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA
| | - Sandra Scherrer
- Center for Neurosciences, Laboratory for Molecular and Behavioural Neuroimaging, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA
| | - Yoon Young Choi
- Center for Neurosciences, Laboratory for Molecular and Behavioural Neuroimaging, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA
| | - Christina Veith
- Center for Neurosciences, Laboratory for Molecular and Behavioural Neuroimaging, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA
| | - Joseph Carrion
- Center for Neurosciences, Laboratory for Molecular and Behavioural Neuroimaging, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA; Department of Molecular Medicine, Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine, Hempstead, NY, USA
| | - Rebecca Silverman
- Center for Neurosciences, Laboratory for Molecular and Behavioural Neuroimaging, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA
| | - Danielle Mullin
- Center for Neurosciences, Laboratory for Molecular and Behavioural Neuroimaging, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA
| | - Mohamed Ahmed
- Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Cohen Children's Medical Center of NY, New Hyde Park, NY, USA
| | - Wynne K Schiffer
- Department of Neurology, N. Bud Grossman Center for Memory Research and Care, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Jonathan D Brodie
- Psychiatry Department, New York University School of Medicine, NY, USA
| | - Stephen L Dewey
- Center for Neurosciences, Laboratory for Molecular and Behavioural Neuroimaging, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA; Department of Molecular Medicine, Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine, Hempstead, NY, USA; Psychiatry Department, New York University School of Medicine, NY, USA
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Effects of Neonatal Methamphetamine and Stress on Brain Monoamines and Corticosterone in Preweanling Rats. Neurotox Res 2016; 31:269-282. [PMID: 27817108 DOI: 10.1007/s12640-016-9680-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2016] [Revised: 10/17/2016] [Accepted: 10/20/2016] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Neonatal exposure to methamphetamine (MA) and developmental chronic stress significantly alter neurodevelopmental profiles that show a variety of long-term physiological and behavioral effects. In the current experiment, Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to one of two housing conditions along with MA. Rats were given 0 (saline), 5, or 7.5 mg/kg MA, four times per day from postnatal day (P)11 to 15 or P11 to 20. Half of the litters were reared in cages with standard bedding and half with no bedding. Separate litters were assessed at P15 or P20 for organ weights (adrenals, spleen, thymus); corticosterone; and monoamine assessments (dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine) and their metabolites within the neostriatum, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex. Findings show neonatal MA altered monoamines, corticosterone, and organ characteristics alone, and as a function of developmental age and stress compared with controls. These alterations may in part be responsible for MA and early life stress-induced long-term learning and memory deficits.
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Mechanisms involved in the neurotoxic and cognitive effects of developmental methamphetamine exposure. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016; 108:131-41. [DOI: 10.1002/bdrc.21130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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Pu H, Wang X, Zhang J, Ma C, Su Y, Li X, Liu X, Su L. Cerebellar neuronal apoptosis in heroin-addicted rats and its molecular mechanism. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PATHOLOGY 2015; 8:8260-8267. [PMID: 26339395 PMCID: PMC4555723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2015] [Accepted: 06/23/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The overall objective of this study was to investigate neuronal apoptosis and expression of apoptosis related proteins (c-jun, cytc and Bax) in the cerebellum of rates with heroin addiction. MATERIAL/METHODS 40 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats which weighing 200-220 g were randomly divided into 5 groups (n = 8 per group): control group, 10-day heroin-addicted group, 20-day heroin-addicted group, 30-day heroin-addicted group and 40-day heroin-addicted group. Rats in the control group were treated with normal saline. Rats in the addiction groups (20 d, 30 d, 40 d) were all given subcutaneous injection with heroin for 15 days to induce heroin addiction. After injected with heroin for 15 days, rats were treated with naloxone at a dose of 5 mg/kg to induce abstinence for 30 mins to examine the addiction of rats. They were then continued to be treated with heroin for another 10 days, 20 days, 30 days, and 40 days respectively to establish heroin-addicted models. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) was employed to identify apoptotic cells [6]. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot assay were also used in the study to examine the protein expressions of c-jun, cytc and Bax in the cerebellum. RESULTS Compared with the control group, the proportion of apoptotic neurons increased significantly in the heroin addiction groups (10 d, 20 d, 30 d, 40 d) (P < 0.05), also accompanied by markedly increased expressions of c-jun, cytc and Bax (P < 0.05) depending on doses of heroin in the cerebellum. Thus, the significant differences were observed in heroin addiction groups (10 d, 20 d,30 d, 40 d) and control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Long-term use of heroin may induce neuronal apoptosis in the cerebellum by raising the expressions of pro-apoptotic c-jun, cytc and Bax, which might be one of mechanisms underlying the heroin-induced cerebellum neuronal damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongwei Pu
- Department of Science and Research Education Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical UniversityUrumqi, China
| | - Xuemei Wang
- Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Medical animal Model Research, First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical UniversityUrumqi, China
| | - Jianlong Zhang
- College of Basic Medicine, Xinjiang Medical UniversityUrumqi, China
| | - Chuang Ma
- Department of Micro-Reconstructive Surgery of Orthopedics Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical UniversityUrumqi, China
| | - Yinxia Su
- Clinical Research Institute of The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical UniversityUrumqi, China
| | - Xiujuan Li
- College of Basic Medicine, Xinjiang Medical UniversityUrumqi, China
| | - Xiaoshan Liu
- Department of Forensic Science, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen UniversityGuangzhou, China
| | - Liping Su
- Department of Pathology, First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical UniversityUrumqi, China
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Abstract
Prenatal drug exposure, particularly prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE), incurs great public and scientific interest because of its associated neurodevelopmental consequences. However, the neural underpinnings of PCE remain essentially uncharted, and existing studies in school-aged children and adolescents are confounded greatly by postnatal environmental factors. In this study, leveraging a large neonate sample (N = 152) and non-invasive resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, we compared human infants with PCE comorbid with other drugs (such as nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, and antidepressant) with infants with similar non-cocaine poly drug exposure and drug-free controls. We aimed to characterize the neural correlates of PCE based on functional connectivity measurements of the amygdala and insula at the earliest stage of development. Our results revealed common drug exposure-related connectivity disruptions within the amygdala-frontal, insula-frontal, and insula-sensorimotor circuits. Moreover, a cocaine-specific effect was detected within a subregion of the amygdala-frontal network. This pathway is thought to play an important role in arousal regulation, which has been shown to be irregular in PCE infants and adolescents. These novel results provide the earliest human-based functional delineations of the neural-developmental consequences of prenatal drug exposure and thus open a new window for the advancement of effective strategies aimed at early risk identification and intervention.
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Abstract
Intrauterine methamphetamine exposure adversely affects the neurofunctional profile of exposed children, leading to a variety of higher order cognitive deficits, such as decreased attention, reduced working-memory capability, behavioral dysregulation, and spatial memory impairments (Kiblawi et al. in J Dev Behav Pediatr 34:31-37, 2013; Piper et al. in Pharmacol Biochem Behav 98:432-439 2011; Roussotte et al. in Neuroimage 54:3067-3075, 2011; Twomey et al. in Am J Orthopsychiatry 83:64-72, 2013). In animal models of developmental methamphetamine, both neuroanatomical and behavioral outcomes critically depend on the timing of methamphetamine administration. Methamphetamine exposure during the third trimester human equivalent period of brain development results in well-defined and persistent wayfinding and spatial navigation deficits in rodents (Vorhees et al. in Neurotoxicol Teratol 27:117-134, 2005, Vorhees et al. in Int J Dev Neurosci 26:599-610, 2008; Vorhees et al. in Int J Dev Neurosci 27:289-298, 2009; Williams et al. in Psychopharmacology (Berl) 168:329-338, 2003b), whereas drug delivery during the first and second trimester equivalents produces no such effect (Acuff-Smith et al. in Neurotoxicol Teratol 18:199-215, 1996; Schutova et al. in Physiol Res 58:741-750, 2009a; Slamberova et al. in Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol 380:109-114, 2009, Slamberova et al. in Physiol Res 63:S547-S558, 2014b). In this review, we examine the impact of developmental methamphetamine on emerging neural circuitry, neurotransmission, receptor changes, and behavioral outcomes in animal models. The review is organized by type of effects and timing of drug exposure (prenatal only, pre- and neonatal, and neonatal only). The findings elucidate functional patterns of interconnected brain structures (e.g., frontal cortex and striatum) and neurotransmitters (e.g., dopamine and serotonin) involved in methamphetamine-induced developmental neurotoxicity.
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Grewen K, Burchinal M, Vachet C, Gouttard S, Gilmore JH, Lin W, Johns J, Elam M, Gerig G. Prenatal cocaine effects on brain structure in early infancy. Neuroimage 2014; 101:114-23. [PMID: 24999039 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.06.070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2014] [Revised: 05/30/2014] [Accepted: 06/26/2014] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) is related to subtle deficits in cognitive and behavioral function in infancy, childhood and adolescence. Very little is known about the effects of in utero PCE on early brain development that may contribute to these impairments. The purpose of this study was to examine brain structural differences in infants with and without PCE. We conducted MRI scans of newborns (mean age = 5 weeks) to determine cocaine's impact on early brain structural development. Subjects were three groups of infants: 33 with PCE co-morbid with other drugs, 46 drug-free controls and 40 with prenatal exposure to other drugs (nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, opiates, SSRIs) but without cocaine. Infants with PCE exhibited lesser total gray matter (GM) volume and greater total cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) volume compared with controls and infants with non-cocaine drug exposure. Analysis of regional volumes revealed that whole brain GM differences were driven primarily by lesser GM in prefrontal and frontal brain regions in infants with PCE, while more posterior regions (parietal, occipital) did not differ across groups. Greater CSF volumes in PCE infants were present in prefrontal, frontal and parietal but not occipital regions. Greatest differences (GM reduction, CSF enlargement) in PCE infants were observed in dorsal prefrontal cortex. Results suggest that PCE is associated with structural deficits in neonatal cortical gray matter, specifically in prefrontal and frontal regions involved in executive function and inhibitory control. Longitudinal study is required to determine whether these early differences persist and contribute to deficits in cognitive functions and enhanced risk for drug abuse seen at school age and in later life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen Grewen
- University of North Carolina, Department of Psychiatry, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
| | - Margaret Burchinal
- University of North Carolina, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Clement Vachet
- University of Utah, Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Sylvain Gouttard
- University of Utah, Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - John H Gilmore
- University of North Carolina, Department of Psychiatry, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Weili Lin
- University of North Carolina, Biomedical Research Imaging Center, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Josephine Johns
- University of North Carolina, Department of Psychiatry, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Mala Elam
- University of North Carolina, Department of Psychiatry, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Guido Gerig
- University of Utah, Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
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Abstract
Fetal MRI is now a well-established imaging modality for the diagnostic evaluation of fetuses with congenital anomalies. In this article, the authors provide a brief overview of the physical principles involved in fetal MRI imaging, the sequences that are used in clinical practice today, current indications, and limitations. A review of current evidence supports the following indications for fetal MRI: suspected central nervous system anomalies, neck and oropharyngeal masses, diaphragmatic hernia, abdominal masses or bowel pathology not fully characterized by ultrasonography, and suspected fetal infection. Other indications should be decided on a case-by-case basis with close collaboration between the departments of maternal-fetal medicine and radiology. More research is needed to determine the role of fetal MRI in functional neuroimaging at higher magnetic field strengths (3T).
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Lebel C, Warner T, Colby J, Soderberg L, Roussotte F, Behnke M, Davis Eyler F, Sowell ER. White matter microstructure abnormalities and executive function in adolescents with prenatal cocaine exposure. Psychiatry Res 2013; 213:161-8. [PMID: 23769420 PMCID: PMC3812806 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2013.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2013] [Revised: 04/10/2013] [Accepted: 04/11/2013] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Children with prenatal exposure to cocaine are at higher risk for negative behavioral function and attention difficulties, and have demonstrated brain diffusion abnormalities in frontal white matter regions. However, brain regions beyond frontal and callosal areas have not been investigated using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). DTI data were collected on 42 youth aged 14-16 years; subjects were divided into three groups based on detailed exposure histories: those with prenatal exposure to cocaine but not alcohol (prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE), n=12), prenatal exposure to cocaine and alcohol (cocaine and alcohol exposure (CAE), n=17), and controls (n=13). Tractography was performed and along-tract diffusion parameters were examined for group differences and correlations with executive function measures. In the right arcuate fasciculus and cingulum, the CAE group had higher fractional anisotropy (FA) and/or lower mean diffusivity (MD) than the other two groups. The PCE group demonstrated lower FA in the right arcuate and higher MD in the splenium of the corpus callosum than controls. Diffusion parameters in tracts with group differences correlated with measures of executive function. In conclusion, these diffusion differences in adolescents with prenatal cocaine exposure suggest localized, long-term structural brain alterations that may underlie attention and response-inhibition difficulties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Lebel
- Department of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Tamara Warner
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
| | - John Colby
- Department of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Lindsay Soderberg
- Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
| | | | - Marylou Behnke
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
| | | | - Elizabeth R. Sowell
- Department of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA,Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA,Corresponding Author: Elizabeth Sowell, PhD, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, 4650 Sunset Blvd., Mailstop #130, Los Angeles, California, 90027,
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Li Z, Santhanam P, Coles CD, Lynch ME, Hamann S, Peltier S, Hu X. Prenatal cocaine exposure alters functional activation in the ventral prefrontal cortex and its structural connectivity with the amygdala. Psychiatry Res 2013; 213:47-55. [PMID: 23693086 PMCID: PMC3672335 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2012.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2011] [Revised: 12/12/2012] [Accepted: 12/20/2012] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) is associated with arousal dysregulation, and alterations of amygdala activity in response to emotional arousal have previously been reported. However, voluntary regulation of emotional affect, enabling appropriate neural response to different streams of stimuli, must also engage prefrontal regions, yet the impact of PCE on these prefrontal mechanisms has not been investigated. Recent neuroimaging studies have shown the involvement of ventral prefrontal cortex (vPFC) in the modulation of amygdala reactivity and the mediation of effective emotional regulation. Based on these findings, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), the present study compared functional activations of the vPFC as well as its structural connectivity with the amygdala between groups of PCE and control adolescents. In a working memory task with emotional distracters, the PCE adolescents exhibited less capability of increasing their vPFC activation in response to increased memory load, which corresponded with their less suppressed amygdala activation. Reduced structural connectivity between the vPFC and the amygdala was also observed from DTI measurement in the PCE group. In addition, correlations between amygdala activation and (i) vPFC activation, as well as (ii) amygdala-vPFC structural connectivity, were observed in the control but not in the PCE group. These data complement previous findings of the impact of PCE on the activity of the amygdala and extend our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the effect of PCE on arousal dysregulation reported in human and animal studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhihao Li
- Biomedical Imaging Technology Center, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University & Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30322, Georgia U.S.A
| | - Priya Santhanam
- Biomedical Imaging Technology Center, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University & Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30322, Georgia U.S.A
| | - Claire D. Coles
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta 30322, Georgia U.S.A
| | - Mary Ellen Lynch
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta 30322, Georgia U.S.A
| | - Stephan Hamann
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta 30322, Georgia U.S.A
| | - Scott Peltier
- Biomedical Imaging Technology Center, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University & Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30322, Georgia U.S.A
| | - Xiaoping Hu
- Biomedical Imaging Technology Center, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University & Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30322, Georgia U.S.A.,Correspondence: Xiaoping Hu, PhD., Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Woodruff Memorial Building, 101 Woodruff Circle, Suite 2001, Atlanta Georgia 30322, Tel: (404)-712-2615, Fax: (404)-712-2707,
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Wang C, Zheng D, Xu J, Lam W, Yew DT. Brain damages in ketamine addicts as revealed by magnetic resonance imaging. Front Neuroanat 2013; 7:23. [PMID: 23882190 PMCID: PMC3713393 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2013.00023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2013] [Accepted: 06/26/2013] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Ketamine, a known antagonist of N-methyl-D-aspartic (NMDA) glutamate receptors, had been used as an anesthetic particularly for pediatric or for cardiac patients. Unfortunately, ketamine has become an abusive drug in many parts of the world while chronic and prolonged usage led to damages of many organs including the brain. However, no studies on possible damages in the brains induced by chronic ketamine abuse have been documented in the human via neuroimaging. This paper described for the first time via employing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) the changes in ketamine addicts of 0.5–12 years and illustrated the possible brain regions susceptible to ketamine abuse. Twenty-one ketamine addicts were recruited and the results showed that the lesions in the brains of ketamine addicts were located in many regions which appeared 2–4 years after ketamine addiction. Cortical atrophy was usually evident in the frontal, parietal or occipital cortices of addicts. Such study confirmed that many brain regions in the human were susceptible to chronic ketamine injury and presented a diffuse effect of ketamine on the brain which might differ from other central nervous system (CNS) drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunmei Wang
- Brain Research Center, Institute of Chinese Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong SAR, China
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15
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Abstract
Substance use among pregnant women continues to be a major public health concern, posing potential risk to their drug-exposed children as well as burdens on society. This review is intended to discuss the most recent literature regarding the association between in utero cocaine exposure and developmental and behavioral outcomes from birth through adolescence across various domains of functioning (growth, neurobiology, intelligence, academic achievement, language, executive functioning, behavioral regulation and psychopathology). In addition, methodological limitations, associated biological, sociodemographic and environmental risk factors and future directions in this area of research are discussed. Given the large number of exposed children in the child welfare system and the increased need for medical, mental health and special education services within this population, more definitively documenting associations between prenatal cocaine exposure and later child outcomes is essential in order to be able to prospectively address the many significant public health, economic and public policy implications.
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Roussotte F, Soderberg L, Warner T, Narr K, Lebel C, Behnke M, Davis-Eyler F, Sowell E. Adolescents with prenatal cocaine exposure show subtle alterations in striatal surface morphology and frontal cortical volumes. J Neurodev Disord 2012; 4:22. [PMID: 22958316 PMCID: PMC3488340 DOI: 10.1186/1866-1955-4-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2012] [Accepted: 07/19/2012] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Published structural neuroimaging studies of prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) in humans have yielded somewhat inconsistent results, with several studies reporting no significant differences in brain structure between exposed subjects and controls. Here, we sought to clarify some of these discrepancies by applying methodologies that allow for the detection of subtle alterations in brain structure. Methods We applied surface-based anatomical modeling methods to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data to examine regional changes in the shape and volume of the caudate and putamen in adolescents with prenatal cocaine exposure (n = 40, including 28 exposed participants and 12 unexposed controls, age range 14 to 16 years). We also sought to determine whether changes in regional brain volumes in frontal and subcortical regions occurred in adolescents with PCE compared to control participants. Results The overall volumes of the caudate and putamen did not significantly differ between PCE participants and controls. However, we found significant (P <0.05, uncorrected) effects of levels of prenatal exposure to cocaine on regional patterns of striatal morphology. Higher levels of prenatal cocaine exposure were associated with expansion of certain striatal subregions and with contraction in others. Volumetric analyses revealed no significant changes in the volume of any subcortical region of interest, but there were subtle group differences in the volumes of some frontal cortical regions, in particular reduced volumes of caudal middle frontal cortices and left lateral orbitofrontal cortex in exposed participants compared to controls. Conclusions Prenatal cocaine exposure may lead to subtle and regionally specific patterns of regional dysmorphology in the striatum and volumetric changes in the frontal lobes. The localized and bidirectional nature of effects may explain in part the contradictions in the existing literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florence Roussotte
- Department of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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Chronic cocaine exposure induces putamen glutamate and glutamine metabolite abnormalities in squirrel monkeys. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2011; 217:367-75. [PMID: 21494788 PMCID: PMC3169716 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-011-2292-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2010] [Accepted: 03/26/2011] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Chronic cocaine exposure has been associated with progressive brain structural and functional changes. Clarifying mechanisms underlying cocaine's progressive brain effects may help in the development of effective cocaine abuse treatments. OBJECTIVES We used a controlled squirrel monkey model of chronic cocaine exposure (45 mg/kg/week for 9 months) combined with ultra-high magnetic field (9.4 T) proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy to prospectively measure putamen metabolite changes. METHODS Proton metabolites were measured with a STEAM sequence, quantified with LCModel using a simulated basis set, and expressed as metabolite/total creatine (tCr) ratios. RESULTS We found cocaine-induced time-dependent changes in putamen glutamate/tCr and glutamine/tCr metabolite ratios suggestive of altered glutamate compartmentalization, neurotransmission, and metabolism. By contrast, saline-treated monkeys exhibited no metabolite changes over time. The time course of cocaine-induced metabolite abnormalities we detected is consistent with the apparent time course of glutamate abnormalities identified in a cross-sectional study in human cocaine users, as well as with microdialysis findings in rodent models of repeated cocaine exposure. CONCLUSIONS Together, these findings suggests that this squirrel monkey model may be useful for characterizing glutamatergic changes associated with cocaine exposure and for determining efficacies of treatments designed to mitigate cocaine-induced glutamatergic system dysfunction.
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D’Anci KE, Allen PJ, Kanarek RB. A Potential Role for Creatine in Drug Abuse? Mol Neurobiol 2011; 44:136-41. [DOI: 10.1007/s12035-011-8176-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2010] [Accepted: 02/16/2011] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Roussotte F, Soderberg L, Sowell E. Structural, metabolic, and functional brain abnormalities as a result of prenatal exposure to drugs of abuse: evidence from neuroimaging. Neuropsychol Rev 2010; 20:376-97. [PMID: 20978945 PMCID: PMC2988996 DOI: 10.1007/s11065-010-9150-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2010] [Accepted: 10/06/2010] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Prenatal exposure to alcohol and stimulants negatively affects the developing trajectory of the central nervous system in many ways. Recent advances in neuroimaging methods have allowed researchers to study the structural, metabolic, and functional abnormalities resulting from prenatal exposure to drugs of abuse in living human subjects. Here we review the neuroimaging literature of prenatal exposure to alcohol, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Neuroimaging studies of prenatal alcohol exposure have reported differences in the structure and metabolism of many brain systems, including in frontal, parietal, and temporal regions, in the cerebellum and basal ganglia, as well as in the white matter tracts that connect these brain regions. Functional imaging studies have identified significant differences in brain activation related to various cognitive domains as a result of prenatal alcohol exposure. The published literature of prenatal exposure to cocaine and methamphetamine is much smaller, but evidence is beginning to emerge suggesting that exposure to stimulant drugs in utero may be particularly toxic to dopamine-rich basal ganglia regions. Although the interpretation of such findings is somewhat limited by the problem of polysubstance abuse and by the difficulty of obtaining precise exposure histories in retrospective studies, such investigations provide important insights into the effects of drugs of abuse on the structure, function, and metabolism of the developing human brain. These insights may ultimately help clinicians develop better diagnostic tools and devise appropriate therapeutic interventions to improve the condition of children with prenatal exposure to drugs of abuse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florence Roussotte
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroimaging Group, Department of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-7332, USA
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Narayana PA, Datta S, Tao G, Steinberg JL, Moeller FG. Effect of cocaine on structural changes in brain: MRI volumetry using tensor-based morphometry. Drug Alcohol Depend 2010; 111:191-9. [PMID: 20570057 PMCID: PMC2945448 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2010.04.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2009] [Revised: 04/05/2010] [Accepted: 04/13/2010] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed in cocaine-dependent subjects to determine the structural changes in brain compared to non-drug using controls. Cocaine-dependent subjects and controls were carefully screened to rule out brain pathology of undetermined origin. Magnetic resonance images were analyzed using tensor-based morphometry (TBM) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) without and with modulation to adjust for volume changes during normalization. For TBM analysis, unbiased atlases were generated using two different inverse consistent and diffeomorphic nonlinear registration techniques. Two different control groups were used for generating unbiased atlases. Independent of the nonlinear registration technique and normal cohorts used for creating the unbiased atlases, our analysis failed to detect any statistically significant effect of cocaine on brain volumes. These results show that cocaine-dependent subjects do not show differences in regional brain volumes compared to non-drug using controls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ponnada A. Narayana
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging University of Texas Medical School at Houston 6431 Fannin St, Houston, TX 77030,Corresponding author Tel: (713)500-7677 Fax: (713)500-7684
| | - Sushmita Datta
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging University of Texas Medical School at Houston 6431 Fannin St, Houston, TX 77030
| | - Guozhi Tao
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging University of Texas Medical School at Houston 6431 Fannin St, Houston, TX 77030
| | - Joel L. Steinberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences University of Texas Medical School at Houston 6431 Fannin St, Houston, TX 77030
| | - F. Gerard Moeller
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences University of Texas Medical School at Houston 6431 Fannin St, Houston, TX 77030
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Abstract
The purpose of this article was to review follow up studies of children with prenatal drug exposure from preschool through adolescence. Specifically, the authors focus on the effects of prenatal exposure to cocaine, methamphetamine, and opiates on behavior and development. The largest number of studies have examined cocaine-exposed children. The authors identified 42 studies that suggest that there are unique effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on 4- to 13-year-old children, particularly in the areas of behavior problems, attention, language, and cognition. In addition, studies make reasonable attempts to control for possible confounding factors. Systematic research on the long-term effects of prenatal methamphetamine exposure is just beginning but seems to be showing similar effects to that of cocaine. The literature on the on the long-term effects of children with prenatal opiate exposure is more substantial than the methamphetamine literature but it is still relatively sparse and surprising in that there is little recent work. Thus, there are no studies on the current concerns with opiates used for prescription mediation. There is a growing literature using neuroimaging techniques to study the effects of prenatal drug exposure that holds promise for understanding brain/behavior relationships. In addition to pharmacological and teratogenic effects, drugs can also be viewed from a prenatal stressor model. The author discuss this "fetal origins" approach that involves fetal programming and the neuroendocrine system and the potential implications for adolescent brain and behavioral development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barry M Lester
- Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, Providence, RI 02905, USA.
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Ackerman JP, Riggins T, Black MM. A review of the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure among school-aged children. Pediatrics 2010; 125:554-65. [PMID: 20142293 PMCID: PMC3150504 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2009-0637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 146] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
CONTEXT Studies through 6 years have shown no long-term direct effects of prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) on children's physical growth, developmental test scores, or language outcomes. Little is known about the effects of PCE among school-aged children aged 6 years and older. OBJECTIVE We reviewed articles from studies that examined the effects of PCE on growth, cognitive ability, academic functioning, and brain structure and function among school-aged children. METHODS Articles were obtained by searching PubMed, Medline, TOXNET, and PsycInfo databases from January 1980 to December 2008 with the terms "prenatal cocaine exposure," "cocaine," "drug exposure," "substance exposure," "maternal drug use," "polysubstance," "children," "adolescent," "in utero," "pregnancy," "development," and "behavior." Criteria for inclusion were (1) empirical research on children aged 6 years and older prenatally exposed to cocaine, (2) peer-reviewed English-language journal, (3) comparison group, (4) longitudinal follow-up or historical prospective design, (5) masked assessment, (6) exclusion of subjects with serious medical disabilities, and (7) studies that reported nonredundant findings for samples used in multiple investigations. Thirty-two unique studies met the criteria. Each article was independently abstracted by 2 authors to obtain sample composition, methods of PCE assessment, study design, comparison groups, dependent variables, covariates, and results. RESULTS Associations between PCE and growth, cognitive ability, academic achievement, and language functioning were small and attenuated by environmental variables. PCE had significant negative associations with sustained attention and behavioral self-regulation, even with covariate control. Although emerging evidence suggests PCE-related alterations in brain structure and function, interpretation is limited by methodologic inconsistencies. CONCLUSIONS Consistent with findings among preschool-aged children, environmental variables play a key role in moderating and explaining the effects of PCE on school-aged children's functioning. After controlling for these effects, PCE-related impairments are reliably reported in sustained attention and behavioral self-regulation among school-aged children.
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Affiliation(s)
- John P. Ackerman
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Tracy Riggins
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Maureen M. Black
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
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Ma L, Hasan KM, Steinberg JL, Narayana PA, Lane SD, Zuniga EA, Kramer LA, Moeller FG. Diffusion tensor imaging in cocaine dependence: regional effects of cocaine on corpus callosum and effect of cocaine administration route. Drug Alcohol Depend 2009; 104:262-7. [PMID: 19595517 PMCID: PMC2728358 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2009.05.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2008] [Revised: 05/11/2009] [Accepted: 05/14/2009] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Recent studies demonstrated that diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can provide information regarding white matter integrity of the corpus callosum (CC). In this study, DTI parameters were compared between cocaine dependent subjects (CDs) and non-drug using controls (NCs) in midsagittal CC. DTI images were acquired from 19 CDs and 18 age-matched NCs. The midsagittal CC was segmented into: genu, rostral body, anterior midbody, posterior midbody, isthmus, and splenium. Linear mixed models analyses showed that, relative to NCs, CDs had lower fractional anisotropy (FA), higher radial diffusivity (lambda(perpendicular)), and higher mean diffusivity (D(av)) in the isthmus; higher lambda(perpendicular) and D(av) in the rostral body; and lower FA in the splenium. After including mass of lifetime alcohol use in the mixed model analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) as a covariate, significant between group differences in lambda(perpendicular) in the rostral body and isthmus remained. These results suggest that alterations in lambda(perpendicular) in the rostral body and isthmus were mainly due to cocaine use, consistent with previous studies showing that cocaine may alter myelin integrity. Between group differences in FA in the isthmus and splenium, and D(av) in the rostral body and isthmus became non-significant after inclusion of alcohol use as a covariate. This is suggestive of alcohol influencing these values, or may be related to the decreased degrees of freedom for these effects. Consistent with clinical data of greater severity of drug use in smoked versus intranasal cocaine, subjects who smoked cocaine showed lower FA and higher lambda(perpendicular) compared to intranasal CDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liangsuo Ma
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
| | - Khader M. Hasan
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Joel L. Steinberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Ponnada A. Narayana
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Scott D. Lane
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Edward A. Zuniga
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Larry A. Kramer
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - F. Gerard Moeller
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
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Rosales FJ, Reznick JS, Zeisel SH. Understanding the role of nutrition in the brain and behavioral development of toddlers and preschool children: identifying and addressing methodological barriers. Nutr Neurosci 2009; 12:190-202. [PMID: 19761650 PMCID: PMC2776771 DOI: 10.1179/147683009x423454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
The preschool years (i.e. 1-5 years of age) is a time of rapid and dramatic postnatal brain development (i.e. neural plasticity), and of fundamental acquisition of cognitive development (i.e. working memory, attention and inhibitory control). Also, it is a time of transition from a direct maternal mediation/selection of diet-based nutrition to food selection that is more based on self-selection and self-gratification. However, there have been fewer published studies in preschool children than in infants or school-aged children that examined the role of nutrition in brain/mental development (125 studies versus 232 and 303 studies, respectively during the last 28 years). This may arise because of age-related variability, in terms of individual differences in temperament, linguistic ability, and patterns of neural activity that may affect assessment of neural and cognitive development in pre-school children. In this review, we suggest several approaches for assessing brain function in children that can be refined. It would be desirable if the discipline developed some common elements to be included in future studies of diet and brain function, with the idea that they would complement more targeted measures based on time of exposure and understanding of data from animal models. Underlining this approach is the concept of 'window of sensitivity' during which nutrients may affect postnatal neural development: investigators and expert panels need to look specifically for region-specific changes and do so with understanding of the likely time window during which the nutrient was, or was not available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco J Rosales
- Global Research and Development, Mead Johnson Nutritionals, Evansville, Indiana, USA.
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Prenatal cocaine exposure alters emotional arousal regulation and its effects on working memory. Neurotoxicol Teratol 2009; 31:342-8. [PMID: 19699795 DOI: 10.1016/j.ntt.2009.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2008] [Revised: 07/17/2009] [Accepted: 08/11/2009] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
While prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) has been associated with arousal dysregulation and attentional impairments in both human and animal studies, the neurobiological bases of these teratogenic effects have not been well characterized. In the current study, we report functional neuroimaging observations of these effects in exposed youth. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we embedded task-irrelevant emotional distracters in a working memory task to examine the interaction of emotional arousal and memory in 33 PCE and 23 non-exposed adolescents. Though with similar behavioral performance, the two groups exhibited different activation patterns associated with emotion-memory interactions. On the one hand, higher memory load attenuated emotion-related amygdala activation in controls but not in the exposed adolescents; on the other hand, prefrontal activation associated with memory load decreased in the presence of emotional distraction in the controls but increased in the exposed group. These group interaction differences suggest neurobiological substrates for arousal-associated neuronal alterations related to prenatal cocaine exposure. Consistent with previous findings in behavioral and physiological studies, the present neuroimaging data provided more in-depth evidence supporting the view that PCE has significant long-term teratogenic effect on arousal regulation system.
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26
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Chang L, Cloak C, Jiang CS, Farnham S, Tokeshi B, Buchthal S, Hedemark B, Smith LM, Ernst T. Altered neurometabolites and motor integration in children exposed to methamphetamine in utero. Neuroimage 2009; 48:391-7. [PMID: 19576287 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.06.062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2009] [Revised: 06/17/2009] [Accepted: 06/18/2009] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Methamphetamine (METH) is a neurotoxic drug. This study aimed to evaluate brain metabolite levels and cognitive function in young children with prenatal METH exposure. 101 children ages 3-4 years were evaluated with neuropsychological tests and underwent proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) without sedation. Complete datasets from 49 METH-exposed and 49 controls who completed the neuropsychological test battery, and 38 METH-exposed and 37 controls with high-quality MR spectra are reported here. Despite similar physical characteristics (including head circumference), global cognitive function (on Stanford-Binet), parental education, intelligence, mood, and socioeconomic status, METH-exposed children had higher total creatine (tCr: +7%, p=0.003), N-acetyl compounds (NA: +4.3%, p=0.004) and glutamate+glutamine (GLX: +9.6%, p=0.02) concentrations in the frontal white matter, but lower myoinositol (MI: -7%, p=0.01) and MI/tCr (-7.5%, p=0.03) in the thalamus, than control children. The higher frontal white matter NA in the METH-exposed children was due to the higher NA in the METH-exposed girls (+10.2%, p=0.003), but not the boys (+0.8%) compared to sex-matched controls. Furthermore, the METH-exposed children had poorer performance on a visual motor integration (VMI) task, which correlated with lower MI in the thalamus (r=0.26, p=0.03). The higher NA, tCr and GLX concentrations suggest higher neuronal density or cellular compactness in the white matter, especially in the girls, whereas the lower MI suggests lower glial content in the thalamus of these METH-expose children. These findings combined with their poorer performance on VMI also suggest accelerated but aberrant neuronal and glial development in these brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Chang
- Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Queen's University Tower, 1356 Lusitana Street, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA.
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Derauf C, Kekatpure M, Neyzi N, Lester B, Kosofsky B. Neuroimaging of children following prenatal drug exposure. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2009; 20:441-54. [PMID: 19560049 PMCID: PMC2704485 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2009.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2008] [Revised: 03/02/2009] [Accepted: 03/03/2009] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Recent advances in MR-based brain imaging methods have provided unprecedented capabilities to visualize the brain. Application of these methods has allowed identification of brain structures and patterns of functional activation altered in offspring of mothers who used licit (e.g., alcohol and tobacco) and illicit (e.g., cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana) drugs during pregnancy. Here we review that literature, which though somewhat limited by the complexities of separating the specific effects of each drug from other confounding variables, points to sets of interconnected brain structures as being altered following prenatal exposure to drugs of abuse. In particular, dopamine-rich cortical (e.g., frontal cortex) and subcortical (e.g., basal ganglia) fetal brain structures show evidence of vulnerability to intrauterine drug exposure suggesting that during brain development drugs of abuse share a specific profile of developmental neurotoxicity. Such brain malformations may shed light on mechanisms underlying prenatal drug-induced brain injury, may serve as bio-markers of significant intrauterine drug exposure, and may additionally be predictors of subsequent neuro-developmental compromise. Wider clinical use of these research-based non-invasive methods will allow for improved diagnosis and allocation of therapeutic resources for affected infants, children, and young adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris Derauf
- John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI
| | - Minal Kekatpure
- Department of Pediatrics, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY
| | - Nurunisa Neyzi
- Department of Pediatrics, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY
| | - Barry Lester
- Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Women and Infants’ Hospital, Providence, RI
| | - Barry Kosofsky
- Department of Pediatrics, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY
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Sheinkopf SJ, Lester BM, Sanes JN, Eliassen JC, Hutchison ER, Seifer R, Lagasse LL, Durston S, Casey BJ. Functional MRI and response inhibition in children exposed to cocaine in utero. Preliminary findings. Dev Neurosci 2009; 31:159-66. [PMID: 19372696 DOI: 10.1159/000207503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2008] [Accepted: 10/20/2008] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
This study investigated the potential long-term effects of cocaine exposure on brain functioning using fMRI in school-aged children. The sample included 12 children with prenatal cocaine exposure and 12 non-exposed children (8-9 years old). Groups did not differ on IQ, socioeconomic status, or perinatal risk factors. A response inhibition task was administered during an fMRI scan using a 1.5-T MRI system. Task performance did not differentiate groups, but groups were differentiated by patterns of task-related brain activity. Cocaine-exposed children showed greater activation in the right inferior frontal cortex and caudate during response inhibition, whereas non-exposed children showed greater activations in temporal and occipital regions. These preliminary findings suggest that prenatal cocaine may affect the development of brain systems involved in the regulation of attention and response inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen J Sheinkopf
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI 02905, USA.
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Arnold R, Johnson C, McNulty B, Gaisie G. Substantia nigra MR imaging signal changes and cardiomyopathy following prenatal exposure to cocaine and heroin. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 2008; 29:828-9. [PMID: 18202230 DOI: 10.3174/ajnr.a0966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Exposure to cocaine in utero results in behavioral and neurodevelopmental abnormalities that persist into adulthood. Conventional MR imaging has generally failed to reveal the expected structural lesions to explain these clinical findings. We report a case of focal MR imaging signal-intensity changes in the substantia nigra, locus ceruleus, and other selected nerve tracts and nuclei in a child exposed prenatally to cocaine and other drugs. The patient also had dilated cardiomyopathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Arnold
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine-Canton Affiliated Hospitals, Canton, Ohio 44710, USA.
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Rivkin MJ, Davis PE, Lemaster JL, Cabral HJ, Warfield SK, Mulkern RV, Robson CD, Rose-Jacobs R, Frank DA. Volumetric MRI study of brain in children with intrauterine exposure to cocaine, alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana. Pediatrics 2008; 121:741-50. [PMID: 18381539 PMCID: PMC2562785 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2007-1399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 124] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to use volumetric MRI to study brain volumes in 10- to 14-year-old children with and without intrauterine exposure to cocaine, alcohol, cigarettes, or marijuana. METHODS Volumetric MRI was performed on 35 children (mean age: 12.3 years; 14 with intrauterine exposure to cocaine, 21 with no intrauterine exposure to cocaine) to determine the effect of prenatal drug exposure on volumes of cortical gray matter; white matter; subcortical gray matter; cerebrospinal fluid; and total parenchymal volume. Head circumference was also obtained. Analyses of each individual substance were adjusted for demographic characteristics and the remaining 3 prenatal substance exposures. RESULTS Regression analyses adjusted for demographic characteristics showed that children with intrauterine exposure to cocaine had lower mean cortical gray matter and total parenchymal volumes and smaller mean head circumference than comparison children. After adjustment for other prenatal exposures, these volumes remained smaller but lost statistical significance. Similar analyses conducted for prenatal ethanol exposure adjusted for demographics showed significant reduction in mean cortical gray matter; total parenchymal volumes; and head circumference, which remained smaller but lost statistical significance after adjustment for the remaining 3 exposures. Notably, prenatal cigarette exposure was associated with significant reductions in cortical gray matter and total parenchymal volumes and head circumference after adjustment for demographics that retained marginal significance after adjustment for the other 3 exposures. Finally, as the number of exposures to prenatal substances grew, cortical gray matter and total parenchymal volumes and head circumference declined significantly with smallest measures found among children exposed to all 4. CONCLUSIONS; These data suggest that intrauterine exposures to cocaine, alcohol, and cigarettes are individually related to reduced head circumference; cortical gray matter; and total parenchymal volumes as measured by MRI at school age. Adjustment for other substance exposures precludes determination of statistically significant individual substance effect on brain volume in this small sample; however, these substances may act cumulatively during gestation to exert lasting effects on brain size and volume.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Rivkin
- Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts,Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts,Department of Psychiatry, Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Peter E. Davis
- Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Jennifer L. Lemaster
- Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Howard J. Cabral
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Simon K. Warfield
- Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Robert V. Mulkern
- Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Caroline D. Robson
- Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Ruth Rose-Jacobs
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Deborah A. Frank
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
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Functional magnetic resonance imaging and working memory in adolescents with gestational cocaine exposure. J Pediatr 2008; 152:371-7. [PMID: 18280843 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2007.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2006] [Revised: 08/09/2007] [Accepted: 08/09/2007] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To assess the effect of gestational cocaine exposure on the prefrontal cortex (PFC) with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). STUDY DESIGN Using an n-back task, we obtained fMRI with a 3T Siemens scanner on 49 adolescents, 25 who were exposed to cocaine and 24 who were not exposed. The primary outcome was PFC activation during task performance. Five functionally derived regions of interest (ROI) were defined; in addition, 2 a priori anatomical ROIs were generated for Brodmann regions 10 and 46. RESULTS Of the 49 adolescents who underwent imaging, data from 17 who were exposed to cocaine and 17 who were not exposed were in the final analysis. Groups had similar performance on the n-back task (P >/= .4), with both showing a fewer number of correct responses on the 2-back than the 1-back (P < .001), indicating increased demands on working memory with greater task difficulty. In functionally derived ROIs, imaging results showed increased activation for both groups in the 2-back versus the 1-back condition. In anatomical ROIs, both groups showed greater activation in the 2-back versus the 1-back condition, with activation in the non-exposed group proportionally greater for the left prefrontal region (P = .05). CONCLUSION In this sample of adolescents, participants who were exposed to cocaine and participants who were not exposed were similar in performance on an executive function task and in fMRI activation patterns during task performance.
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Abstract
Modern imaging techniques enable researchers to observe drug actions and consequences as they occur and persist in the brains of abusing and addicted individuals. This article presents the five most commonly used techniques, explains how each produces images, and describes how researchers interpret them. The authors give examples of key findings illustrating how each technique has extended and deepened our knowledge of the neurobiological bases of drug abuse and addiction, and they address potential clinical and therapeutic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna S Fowler
- Medical Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA.
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Rao H, Wang J, Giannetta J, Korczykowski M, Shera D, Avants BB, Gee J, Detre JA, Hurt H. Altered resting cerebral blood flow in adolescents with in utero cocaine exposure revealed by perfusion functional MRI. Pediatrics 2007; 120:e1245-54. [PMID: 17974718 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2006-2596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Animal studies have clearly demonstrated the effects of in utero cocaine exposure on neural ontogeny, especially in dopamine-rich areas of cerebral cortex; however, less is known about how in utero cocaine exposure affects longitudinal neurocognitive development of the human brain. We used continuous arterial spin-labeling perfusion functional MRI to measure the effect of in utero cocaine exposure on resting brain function by comparing resting cerebral blood flow of cocaine-exposed adolescents with non-cocaine-exposed control subjects. PATIENTS AND METHODS Twenty-four cocaine-exposed adolescents and 25 matched non-cocaine-exposed control subjects underwent structural and perfusion functional MRI during resting states. Direct subtraction, voxel-wise general linear modeling, and region-of-interest analyses were performed on the cerebral blood flow images to compare the resting cerebral blood flow between the 2 groups. RESULTS Compared with control subjects, cocaine-exposed adolescents showed significantly reduced global cerebral blood flow. The decrease of cerebral blood flow in cocaine-exposed adolescents was observed mainly in posterior and inferior brain regions, including the occipital cortex and thalamus. After adjusting for global cerebral blood flow, however, a significant increase in relative cerebral blood flow in cocaine-exposed adolescents was found in anterior and superior brain regions, including the prefrontal, cingulate, insular, amygdala, and superior parietal cortex. Furthermore, the functional modulations by in utero cocaine exposure on all of these regions except amygdala cannot be accounted for by the variation in brain anatomy. CONCLUSIONS In utero cocaine exposure may reduce global cerebral blood flow, and this reduction may persist into adolescence. The relative increase of cerebral blood flow in anterior and superior brain regions in cocaine-exposed adolescent participants suggests that compensatory mechanisms for reduced global cerebral blood flow may develop during neural ontogeny. Arterial spin-labeling perfusion MRI may be a valuable tool for investigating the long-term effects of in utero drug exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hengyi Rao
- Department of Radiology and Neurology, Center for Functional Neuroimaging, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
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Walhovd KB, Moe V, Slinning K, Due-Tønnessen P, Bjørnerud A, Dale AM, van der Kouwe A, Quinn BT, Kosofsky B, Greve D, Fischl B. Volumetric cerebral characteristics of children exposed to opiates and other substances in utero. Neuroimage 2007; 36:1331-44. [PMID: 17513131 PMCID: PMC2039875 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2007.03.070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2006] [Revised: 09/12/2006] [Accepted: 03/28/2007] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Morphometric cerebral characteristics were studied in children with prenatal poly-substance exposure (n=14) compared to controls (n=14) without such exposure. Ten of the substance-exposed children were born to mothers who used opiates (heroin) throughout the pregnancy. Groups were compared across 16 brain measures: cortical gray matter, cerebral white matter, hippocampus, amygdala, thalamus, accumbens area, caudate, putamen, pallidum, brainstem, cerebellar cortex, cerebellar white matter, lateral ventricles, inferior lateral ventricles, and the 3rd and 4th ventricles. In addition, continuous measurement of thickness across the entire cortical mantle was performed. Volumetric characteristics were correlated with ability and questionnaire assessments 2 years prior to scan. Compared to controls, the substance-exposed children had smaller intracranial and brain volumes, including smaller cerebral cortex, amygdala, accumbens area, putamen, pallidum, brainstem, cerebellar cortex, cerebellar white matter, and inferior lateral ventricles, and thinner cortex of the right anterior cingulate and lateral orbitofrontal cortex. Pallidum and putamen appeared especially reduced in the subgroup exposed to opiates. Only volumes of the right anterior cingulate, the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex and the accumbens area, showed some association with ability and questionnaire measures. The sample studied is rare and hence small, so conclusions cannot be drawn with certainty. Morphometric group differences were observed, but associations with previous behavioral assessment were generally weak. Some of the volumetric differences, particularly thinner cortex in part of the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex, may be moderately involved in cognitive and behavioral difficulties more frequently experienced by opiate and poly-substance-exposed children.
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Affiliation(s)
- K B Walhovd
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, PoB 1094 Blindern, 0317 Oslo, Norway.
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Morrow CE, Culbertson JL, Accornero VH, Xue L, Anthony JC, Bandstra ES. Learning disabilities and intellectual functioning in school-aged children with prenatal cocaine exposure. Dev Neuropsychol 2007; 30:905-31. [PMID: 17083299 PMCID: PMC2641029 DOI: 10.1207/s15326942dn3003_8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
Risk for developing a learning disability (LD) or impaired intellectual functioning by age 7 was assessed in full-term children with prenatal cocaine exposure drawn from a cohort of 476 children born full term and enrolled prospectively at birth. Intellectual functioning was assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (Wechsler, 1991) short form, and academic functioning was assessed using the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT; Wechsler, 1993) Screener by examiners blind to exposure status. LDs were categorized based on ability-achievement discrepancy scores, using the regression-based predicted achievement method described in the WIAT manual. The sample in this report included 409 children (212 cocaine-exposed, 197 non-cocaine-exposed) from the birth cohort with available data. Cumulative incidence proportions and relative risk values were estimated using STATA software (Statacorp, 2003). No differences were found in the estimate of relative risk for impaired intellectual functioning (IQ below 70) between children with and without prenatal cocaine exposure (estimated relative risk = .95; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.65, 1.39; p = .79). The cocaine-exposed children had 2.8 times greater risk of developing a LD by age 7 than non-cocaine-exposed children (95% CI = 1.05, 7.67; p = .038; IQ >/= 70 cutoff). Results remained stable with adjustment for multiple child and caregiver covariates, suggesting that children with prenatal cocaine exposure are at increased risk for developing a learning disability by age 7 when compared to their non-cocaine-exposed peers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Connie E Morrow
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33101, USA.
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Fagerlund A, Heikkinen S, Autti-Rämö I, Korkman M, Timonen M, Kuusi T, Riley EP, Lundbom N. Brain Metabolic Alterations in Adolescents and Young Adults With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2006; 30:2097-104. [PMID: 17117975 DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2006.00257.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prenatal alcohol exposure affects brain structure and function. This study examined brain metabolism using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and searched for regions of specific vulnerability in adolescents and young adults prenatally exposed to alcohol. METHODS Ten adolescents and young adults with confirmed heavy prenatal alcohol exposure and a diagnosis within the fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) were included. Three of them had fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), 3 had partial FAS (PFAS), and 4 had alcohol-related neurobehavioral disorder (ARND). The control group consisted of 10 adolescents matched for age, sex, head circumference, handedness, and body mass. Exclusionary criteria were learning disorders and prenatal alcohol exposure. Three-dimensional (1)H magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging ((1)H MRSI) was performed in the cerebrum and cerebellum. Metabolite ratios N-acetylaspartate/choline (NAA/Cho), NAA/creatine (Cr) and Cho/Cr, and absolute metabolite intensities were calculated for several anatomic regions. RESULTS In patients with FASD, lower NAA/Cho and/or NAA/Cr compared with controls were found in parietal and frontal cortices, frontal white matter, corpus callosum, thalamus, and cerebellar dentate nucleus. There was an increase in the absolute intensity of the glial markers Cho and Cr but no change in the neuronal marker NAA. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that prenatal alcohol exposure alters brain metabolism in a long-standing or permanent manner in multiple brain areas. These changes are in accordance with previous findings from structural and functional studies. Metabolic alterations represent changes in the glial cell pool rather than in the neurons.
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Warner TD, Behnke M, Eyler FD, Padgett K, Leonard C, Hou W, Garvan CW, Schmalfuss IM, Blackband SJ. Diffusion tensor imaging of frontal white matter and executive functioning in cocaine-exposed children. Pediatrics 2006; 118:2014-24. [PMID: 17079574 PMCID: PMC3166953 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2006-0003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although animal studies have demonstrated frontal white matter and behavioral changes resulting from prenatal cocaine exposure, no human studies have associated neuropsychological deficits in attention and inhibition with brain structure. We used diffusion tensor imaging to investigate frontal white matter integrity and executive functioning in cocaine-exposed children. METHODS Six direction diffusion tensor images were acquired using a Siemens 3T scanner with a spin-echo echo-planar imaging pulse sequence on right-handed cocaine-exposed (n = 28) and sociodemographically similar non-exposed children (n = 25; mean age: 10.6 years) drawn from a prospective, longitudinal study. Average diffusion and fractional anisotropy were measured in the left and right frontal callosal and frontal projection fibers. Executive functioning was assessed using two well-validated neuropsychological tests (Stroop color-word test and Trail Making Test). RESULTS Cocaine-exposed children showed significantly higher average diffusion in the left frontal callosal and right frontal projection fibers. Cocaine-exposed children were also significantly slower on a visual-motor set-shifting task with a trend toward lower scores on a verbal inhibition task. Controlling for gender and intelligence, average diffusion in the left frontal callosal fibers was related to prenatal exposure to alcohol and marijuana and an interaction between cocaine and marijuana exposure. Performance on the visual-motor set-shifting task was related to prenatal cocaine exposure and an interaction between cocaine and tobacco exposure. Significant correlations were found between test performance and fractional anisotropy in areas of the frontal white matter. CONCLUSIONS Prenatal cocaine exposure, alone and in combination with exposure to other drugs, is associated with slightly poorer executive functioning and subtle microstructural changes suggesting less mature development of frontal white matter pathways. The relative contribution of postnatal environmental factors, including characteristics of the caregiving environment and stressors associated with poverty and out-of-home placement, on brain development and behavioral functioning in polydrug-exposed children awaits further research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamara Duckworth Warner
- University of Florida, College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, PO Box 100296, Gainesville, FL 32610-0296, USA.
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Bathen TF, Sjöbakk TE, Skranes J, Brubakk AM, Vik T, Martinussen M, Myhr GE, Gribbestad IS, Axelson D. Cerebral metabolite differences in adolescents with low birth weight: assessment with in vivo proton MR spectroscopy. Pediatr Radiol 2006; 36:802-9. [PMID: 16703344 DOI: 10.1007/s00247-006-0159-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2005] [Revised: 02/01/2006] [Accepted: 03/06/2006] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Children with very low birth weight (VLBW) have a significantly increased risk of later neurodevelopmental problems, while infants born small for gestational age (SGA) at term are also at some risk of developing neurological impairment. OBJECTIVE To investigate possible brain metabolite differences in adolescents with VLBW, SGA at term and controls by proton in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) at 1.5 T. MATERIALS AND METHODS MR spectra were acquired from volumes localized in the left frontal lobe, containing mainly white matter (54 subjects). Peak areas of N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), choline (Cho) and creatine (Cr) were determined, and the peak area ratio of NAA to Cr, total Cho to Cr, or NAA to Cho calculated. Probabilistic neural network (PNN) analysis was performed utilizing the chemical shift region containing resonances from NAA, Cho and Cr as inputs. RESULTS No significant difference in the peak area ratios could be found using the Kruskal-Wallis test. By application of PNN, a correct classification of 52 of the 54 adolescents with a sensitivity and specificity exceeding 93% for all groups was achieved. CONCLUSION Small, yet systematic, differences in brain metabolite distribution among the groups were confirmed by PNN analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tone F Bathen
- Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
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Dow-Edwards DL, Benveniste H, Behnke M, Bandstra ES, Singer LT, Hurd YL, Stanford LR. Neuroimaging of prenatal drug exposure. Neurotoxicol Teratol 2006; 28:386-402. [PMID: 16832875 PMCID: PMC7770627 DOI: 10.1016/j.ntt.2006.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Diana L Dow-Edwards
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA.
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Abstract
OBJECTIVES Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) were utilized to evaluate functional and metabolic brain changes in drug abusers. METHODS Functional neuroimaging studies in alcohol, cocaine, cigarette, and cannabis abusers were reviewed in the medical literature from 2000 to 2005. RESULTS Brain activation with functional magnetic resonance imaging is different in drug abusers and may show more or less activation according to the task and gender. Lower concentrations of N-acetylaspartate and higher creatine are usually seen with 1H-MRS in the brains of cigarette smokers, people who are cocaine dependent, and alcohol abusers. CONCLUSIONS Neural substrates of drug addition, craving, drug interaction, individual abstinence, and drug withdrawal can be studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alvaro C Magalhaes
- Wayne State University, Department of Radiology, Troy, Michigan 48098, USA.
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Keyler DE, Dufek MB, Calvin AD, Bramwell TJ, LeSage MG, Raphael DE, Ross CA, Le CT, Pentel PR. Reduced nicotine distribution from mother to fetal brain in rats vaccinated against nicotine: Time course and influence of nicotine dosing regimen. Biochem Pharmacol 2005; 69:1385-95. [PMID: 15826609 DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2005.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2004] [Accepted: 02/02/2005] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Nicotine is a teratogen in rats and possibly in humans. Vaccination against nicotine is being studied as a possible treatment for nicotine dependence. The safety of maternal vaccination against nicotine during or prior to pregnancy is not known. In this study, female rats were vaccinated and then administered acute or chronic nicotine during pregnancy at doses simulating nicotine exposure in smokers. Maternal vaccination reduced nicotine distribution to both maternal brain (44-47%) and fetal brain (17-39%) for up to 25 min after a single maternal nicotine dose administered on gestational day (GD) 20, but had a smaller effect on nicotine distribution to brain after continuous nicotine infusion. Nicotine distribution to maternal or fetal brain after repeated nicotine bolus doses was reduced immediately following an individual dose in vaccinated rats, but the chronic accumulation of nicotine in fetal brain was not altered. Nicotine distribution to whole fetus, in contrast to fetal brain, was generally not altered by vaccination. Nicotine-specific antibody concentration in fetal serum was 10% that of maternal serum, and in fetal brain was <1% of maternal serum. Although nicotine transfer to the whole fetus was not reduced by vaccination, protein binding data suggest that nicotine-specific antibody transferred from mother to fetus served to bind nicotine in fetal serum, reduce the unbound nicotine concentration, and thereby reduce nicotine distribution to fetal brain. These data comment on the safety of vaccination against nicotine during pregnancy, and suggest that vaccination may reduce the distribution of nicotine to fetal brain under some nicotine dosing conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel E Keyler
- Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation, Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN 55415, USA
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Salvatore MF, Hudspeth O, Arnold LE, Wilson PE, Stanford JA, MacTutus CF, Booze RM, Gerhardt GA. Prenatal cocaine exposure alters potassium-evoked dopamine release dynamics in rat striatum. Neuroscience 2004; 123:481-90. [PMID: 14698755 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2003.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
The emerging profile for the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure presents two prominent features in the exposed offspring: cognitive/attention deficits and an age-associated trend toward motor/tone abnormalities up to 2 years of age. One candidate mechanism underlying these clinical features is long-lasting alterations to dopamine (DA) neuron function. However, the impact of prenatal cocaine exposure on DA release in dopaminergic terminal fields in vivo in mature offspring is poorly understood. Long-Evans female rats were implanted with an i.v. access port, bred, and given saline or cocaine-HCl (3 mg/kg/ml) for gestational days (GD) 8-14 (1x/day), GD 15-21 (2x/day), or GD 8-21 (1x/day-GD 8-14, 2x/day-GD 15-21). Using in vivo high-speed chronoamperometric recordings, potassium-stimulated DA release was measured in striatum of anesthetized male offspring 90-150 days after birth. There was a trend toward increased potassium-evoked DA signal amplitudes in offspring exposed to cocaine at any time period examined. In offspring exposed to cocaine during GD 8-21 and GD 15-21, but not at GD 8-14, there were significant decreases in the clearance capacity of the potassium-evoked DA signal compared with control offspring. The time required to clear 80% of the evoked DA signal (T(80)) in striatum for DA was significantly prolonged (approximately 150% of control) and this effect was further increased in the mean-evoked DA concentration range for these two groups. We also measured total dopamine transporter (DAT) and tyrosine hydroxylase protein levels in these offspring by blot immunolabeling and found a small, but significant, decrease in DAT protein in striatum from offspring exposed at GD 8-21 and GD 15-21. Collectively, these data demonstrate that prenatal cocaine exposure during dopamine neuron neurogenesis has long-lasting effects on DA neuron function lasting into early adulthood which may be related in part to steady state DAT protein levels. These molecular events may be associated with established cognitive deficits and perhaps the trends seen in altered motor behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- M F Salvatore
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Kentucky Medical Center, Center for Sensor Technology, Davis Mills Building, 800 Rose Street, Lexington, KY 40536, USA.
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Abstract
The present paper reports on the results obtained in a rabbit model of prenatal cocaine exposure that mimics the pharmacokinetics of crack cocaine in humans, and relates these findings to studies in other species including humans. A general finding is that prenatal exposure to cocaine during neurogenesis produces dysfunctions in signal transduction via the dopamine D(1) receptor and alterations in cortical neuronal development leading to permanent morphological abnormalities in frontocingulate cortex and other brain structures. Differences in the precise effects obtained appear to be due to the dose, route and time of cocaine administration. Related to these effects of in utero cocaine exposure, animals demonstrate permanent deficits in cognitive processes related to attentional focus that have been correlated with impairment of stimulus processing in the anterior cingulate cortex. The long-term cognitive deficits observed in various species are in agreement with recent reports indicating that persistent attentional and other cognitive deficits are evident in cocaine-exposed children as they grow older and are challenged to master more complex cognitive tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- John A Harvey
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia PA 19102-1192, USA.
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Abstract
Significant gender differences exist in the prevalence of substance use disorders in the United States. There is a trend among boys and girls aged 12 to 17 years toward comparable rates of use and initiation for alcohol, cocaine, heroin, and tobacco. If this trend continues, over time there may be a narrowing of the male-to-female prevalence ratios of substance abuse in the older age groups. This possibility is particularly disturbing because women have a heightened vulnerability to medical, physical, mental, and social consequences of substance use. Women also carry additional unique risks during pregnancy because of the effect on neonates. In addition, they have certain gender-specific cancer risks. Given this and the declining age of initiation of substance use in women, prevention and treatment efforts especially geared toward women (eg, education of all medical and paramedical staff, screening in primary care clinics, detection of drug use early in pregnancy or before conception, brief interventions and treatment programs that integrate women's needs) are exceedingly important to stop and ultimately reverse this growing trend.
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Echeverría Lecuona J. [Drug abuse in pregnancy and neonatal morbidity]. An Pediatr (Barc) 2003; 58:519-22. [PMID: 12781105 DOI: 10.1016/s1695-4033(03)78115-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
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Mur Sierra A, García-Algar O, López Segura N. Toxicidad de la cocaína en el recién nacido. Detección y prevalencia. Identificación de factores de susceptibilidad. An Pediatr (Barc) 2002. [DOI: 10.1016/s1695-4033(02)77790-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
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Affiliation(s)
- B E Kosofsky
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Laboratory of Molecular and Developmental Neuroscience, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129, USA.
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Beckmann N, Gentsch C, Baumann D, Bruttel K, Vassout A, Schoeffter P, Loetscher E, Bobadilla M, Perentes E, Rudin M. Current awareness. NMR IN BIOMEDICINE 2001; 14:217-222. [PMID: 11357188 DOI: 10.1002/nbm.669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
In order to keep subscribers up-to-date with the latest developments in their field, John Wiley & Sons are providing a current awareness service in each issue of the journal. The bibliography contains newly published material in the field of NMR in biomedicine. Each bibliography is divided into 9 sections: 1 Books, Reviews ' Symposia; 2 General; 3 Technology; 4 Brain and Nerves; 5 Neuropathology; 6 Cancer; 7 Cardiac, Vascular and Respiratory Systems; 8 Liver, Kidney and Other Organs; 9 Muscle and Orthopaedic. Within each section, articles are listed in alphabetical order with respect to author. If, in the preceding period, no publications are located relevant to any one of these headings, that section will be omitted.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Beckmann
- Core Technologies Area, Novartis Pharma AG, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
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