CHRONIC COCAINE EXPOSURE DURING GESTATION

SPID #: 2

SPID#: 2 The objectives of this project are to investigate, in a nonhuman primate model, the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure in order to understand better the risks associated with cocaine use during pregnancy. Clinical reports have indicated that an increasing number of pregnant women test positive for cocaine when admitted to the hospital during labor, and that these women and their newborns are at increased risk for a number of abnormalities. The direct effects of cocaine on pregnancy outcome are difficult to ascertain in humans, however, because of a number of confounding factors. Therefore, cocaine's effects on maternal, fetal and neonatal behavior and development are poorly understood. This project is studying in rhesus monkeys the consequences of cocaine administration during gestation in order to characterize effects on the pregnant female, the developing fetus and the resulting offspring in a controlled laboratory environment where the direct contribution of cocaine can be determined. Cocaine was infused via chronically-implanted osmotic minipumps, and drug levels in maternal serum and amniotic fluid were monitored. In control monkeys, saline was substituted for cocaine solution. Sixty pregnancies produced 52 offspring. During the past year, the subjects were tested on cognitive tasks of increasing difficulty in order to assess learning and memory. The respiratory capabilities of the subjects were also assessed, along with the onset of puberty and preliminary studies of brain functioning using magnetic resonance imaging. The monkeys will be studied and assessed during the next 12 months in order to complete testing, and will also be tested for their sensitivity to cocaine when it is self-administered.