PRENATAL TOBACCO EFFECTS ON ATENTION: BEHAVIOR & BRAIN FUNCTION

描述(申请人提供)：在怀孕期间，烟草比任何其他物质更频繁地使用，包括酒精、大麻和可卡因。此外，与其他滥用药物不同，产前使用烟草的妇女在得知怀孕后很少减少或戒烟。因此，产前烟草暴露是一个重大的公共卫生问题，因为这对母亲及其子女都有潜在的负面健康后果。此外，动物研究表明，产前烟草暴露(PTE)与中枢神经系统发育缺陷之间存在直接联系。更具体地说，对人类的研究已经证实，PTE会导致注意力缺陷，如注意力不集中、冲动增加，以及患注意力缺陷多动障碍(ADHD)的风险增加。PTE导致的特定注意力缺陷的潜在行为和大脑机制尚未确定。这项拟议的研究的目的是表征烟草对行为和大脑功能的注意力测量的影响。我们将研究产前烟草暴露如何影响注意力的不同方面，包括警觉、定向和注意力的执行控制，既包括行为上的，也包括通过探索支持这些功能的神经回路的完整性。为了做到这一点，我们将使用最先进的认知功能行为测量方法和fMRI神经成像技术。这项拟议研究的对象将是从母亲健康实践和儿童发展项目(MHPCD)队列中挑选出来的年轻人，该项目是一项关于产前暴露物质对生长、行为和认知功能影响的纵向研究。定义了两个暴露组：仅接触烟草组(TOB)和不接触烟草组(对照组)。就拟议的研究计划可以识别认知和大脑功能缺陷的程度而言，拟议的工作路线可能会为怀孕期间暴露于烟草的个人的识别、干预和康复提供关键信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Tobacco is used more frequently during pregnancy than any other substance, including alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine. In addition, unlike other drugs of abuse, women who use tobacco prenatally rarely decrease or abstain from use upon learning of their pregnancy. Thus, prenatal tobacco exposure is of major public health concern due to the potential negative health outcomes for both mothers and their offspring. Furthermore, animal studies have demonstrated a direct link between prenatal tobacco exposure (PTE) and deficits in central nervous system development. More specifically, studies in humans have established that PTE leads to attention deficits such as inattention, increased impulsivity, and an increased risk for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The underlying behavioral and brain mechanisms of the specific attention deficits that result from PTE have not been characterized. The purpose of the proposed study is to characterize the effects of tobacco on behavioral and brain function measures of attention. We will examine how prenatal exposure to tobacco affects different aspects of attention, including alerting, orienting, and executive control of attention, both behaviorally and by probing the integrity of the neuronal circuitry that supports these functions. To do this, we will use state-of-the art behavioral measures of cognitive function and fMRI neuroimaging techniques. Subjects for the proposed study will be young adults selected from the Maternal Health Practices and Child Development Project (MHPCD) cohort, a longitudinal study of the effects of prenatal substance exposure on growth, behavior, and cognitive function. Two exposure groups are defined: tobacco only (TOB), and no exposure to tobacco (Controls). To the extent that the proposed research program can identify deficits in cognitive and brain function, the proposed line of work can potentially provide crucial information for the identification, intervention, and rehabilitation of individuals exposed to tobacco during pregnancy.