Effect of prenatal opioid exposure on cholinergic development
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Updated: Aug 12, 2026

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
1Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Virginia, Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298-0613, USA. serobins@hsc.vcu.edu
Abstract:
Opioid drugs such as methadone or buprenorphine are often used in the management of pregnant addicts. These drugs are generally thought of as nonteratogenic and preferable to repeated cycles of withdrawal in utero. However, evidence exists that perinatal exposure to these opioids delays and disrupts cholinergic development, particularly in the striatum. Acetylcholine (ACh) content and the expression of choline acetyltransferase protein and mRNA are reduced in the early postnatal period by prenatal opioid exposure in the rat. Although these indicators of the cholinergic phenotype return to normal levels over time, the activity of the cholinergic neurons remains disrupted, with a large increase in ACh turnover rate. The mechanism of these effects is unknown, but may involve changes in the expression of nerve growth factor, which is reduced by opioid exposure.
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