LONGITUDINAL TRACING OF PRENATAL COCAINE ABUSE

越来越多的文献表明，产前接触可卡因会 对后代的影响，可能表现为神经行为 儿童的缺陷。同时，目前几乎所有的实验室 动物数据基于对新生儿或青少年进行的评估。 啮齿动物。几乎没有数据可以表明这样的赤字 可能出现在成年期，尤其是在老年。这个 后期尤为重要，因为随着年龄的增长，储备 大脑的容量可能不再足以弥补 在早期大脑发育过程中造成的损害。这样的互动是 推测是神经退行性变加速发作的原因 帕金森氏症等疾病。 这个问题将在怀孕期间暴露的大鼠身上得到解决，通过 对可卡因的母性管理。在3-8、9-14、15-20和21-26 几个月后，将对不同组的老鼠进行潜在损害评估 通过各种复杂的性能分析。这些措施包括 认知功能(延迟选择)、运动能力(转轮 业绩)和药物辨别能力(区分能力 针对特定神经递质系统的药物的影响)。这些 这些措施将得到神经化学分析的补充，旨在 多巴胺系统，旨在确定年龄相关的变异是否 大脑的化学成分因发育过程中的暴露而改变。这些 结果将有助于评估母婴传播疾病造成的各种风险。 可卡因滥用及其对社区的潜在影响。

A growing literature indicates that prenatal exposure to cocaine exerts effects on the offspring that may be manifested as neurobehavioral deficits in children. In parallel, almost all of the current laboratory animal data are based on assessments conducted in neonatal or juvenile rodents. Few data are available to suggest the kinds of deficits that may appear during adulthood, and, especially, during advanced age. The latter period is especially important because, with aging, the reserve capacity of the brain may no longer be sufficient to compensate for damage inflicted during early brain development. Such an interaction is speculated to account for an accelerated onset of neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's Disease. This question will be addressed in rats exposed during gestation, via maternal administration to cocaine. At 3-8, 9-14, 15-20, and 21-26 months of age, separate groups of rats will be assessed for latent damage by a variety of complex performance assays. These include measures of cognitive function (delayed choice), motor competence (running wheel performance), and drug discrimination capacity (ability to differentiate the effects of agents aimed at specific neurotransmitter systems). These measures will be supplemented by neurochemical assays, aimed at the dopamine system, designed to determine whether age-related variations in brain chemistry have been changed by the developmental exposure. These results will help estimate the full range of risks posed by maternal cocaine abuse and their potential impact on the community.