The Effect of Prenatal Cocaine on Oxytocin Receptor Density (2011)

Undergraduates: Leah Townsend, Sarah Williams

Faculty Advisor: Josephine Johns
Department: Psychology & Neuroscience

---

Children prenatally exposed to cocaine are often set on a difficult developmental trajectory marked by problematic social behavior which persists throughout their lives. How cocaine is able to derail normal social development is currently unknown. One target may be oxytocin (OT), which is capable of increasing positive social behavior. Yet transient changes in OT levels alone are not responsible for the enduring differences that occur with prenatal cocaine exposure. Thus, this study assessed whether or not prenatal cocaine alters OT receptor levels in brain regions implicated in social behavior. Results from brain tissue of 5 day old rat pups indicate that there is a trend toward differential OT receptor densities in the olfactory regions of exposed and unexposed pups. It was expected that exposed pups would have lower levels of OT receptors in these brain regions, which would provide support that it is through impacting OT receptor levels that cocaine disrupts normal social behavior. However,this appears to not be the case, highlighting the need for further research in this area.