EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING IN COCAINE EXPOSED CHILDREN

描述：(申请人摘要) 拟议研究的目的是评估长期效果。 母亲使用可卡因对执行功能(EF)的影响。其具体目的是 以确定在4岁时，产前可卡因暴露是否与 暴露组儿童EF降低。EF依赖于大脑系统， 可能特别容易受到影响的前额叶皮质(PFC) 在胎儿发育期间的可卡因，因此EF任务很可能是 对早期接触可卡因的持续影响敏感。结果是 令人感兴趣的衡量标准将是EF任务的性能，这些任务已经证明 PFC功能评价中的判别效度。研究样本将 包括190名低SES儿童，分为大量接触可卡因和 根据尿液/胎粪筛查和孕产妇的非接触组 自我报告。环境风险、人口统计和非可卡因药物暴露 将评估和控制暴露组之间的差异 从统计学上讲。结果将被应用于基于大脑的模型 接触可卡因的儿童的特定认知脆弱性可能 为产前可卡因动物模型提供重要的聚合证据 暴露，以及支持修改评估/干预措施 为接触可卡因的儿童提供的方案。

DESCRIPTION: (Applicant's Abstract) The objective of the proposed research is to evaluate the long-term effects of maternal cocaine use on executive functioning (EF). The specific aim is to determine if, at 4-years of age, prenatal cocaine exposure is associated with decreased EF in exposed children. EF depends on a brain system, prefrontal cortex (PFC) that may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of cocaine during fetal development, and thus EF tasks are likely to be sensitive to persistent effects of early cocaine exposure. The outcome measures of interest will be performance on EF tasks which have demonstrated discriminant validity in assessing PFC functioning. The study sample will include 190 low SES children classified into heavy cocaine-exposed and non-exposed groups on the basis of urine/meconium screens and maternal self-report. Environmental risk, demographic, and non-cocaine drug exposure differences between exposure groups will be assessed and controlled for statistically. Results will be applied to a brain-based model of the specific cognitive vulnerabilities of cocaine-exposed children that may provide important convergent evidence for animal models of prenatal cocaine exposure, as well as, supporting modifications of assessment/intervention programs for cocaine-exposed children.