Prenatal Cocaine Exposure Effects on Infant Behavior and Neural Development (2010)

Undergraduates: Mehreen Sheikh, Elizabeth Cox

Faculty Advisor: Josephine Johns
Department: Psychology & Neuroscience

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Studies have shown that a human infant’s cry can be used as a diagnostic tool to identify vulnerable ‘at-risk’ infant populations. This altered language development early in childhood is speculated to coincide with neurodevelopmental disorders; however no previous study has explored what brain mechanism(s) contributes to altered crying behavior. Clinical and animal studies show prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) alters early vocalizations and results in cognitive, social, and language deficits. A systematic evaluation of brain development (differential neurogenesis patterns) that may contribute to behavioral deficits and underlie altered vocalizations in PCE children should be explored. By employing a rodent model of PCE, molecular mechanism(s) contributing to altered vocalizations can begin to be deduced. Vocalization testing was conducted on Sprague-Dawley rat pups on postnatal day one (PND1) following PCE. Pilot studies show that PCE alters vocalizations on PND1 including a decrease in total number of calls, complexity, and altered strength of calls. Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) is being employed to label and examine neuronal development. Preliminary analysis indicates BrdU administration on gestational days (GDs) 13-15 does not alter infant vocalizations. Pup brains following PND 1 vocalization testing are now being processed for immunohistochemistry procedures.