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Enduring effects of prenatal cocaine administration on emotional behavior in rats
D H Overstreet1, S S Moy, D A Lubin
1Department of Psychiatry, 3011 Thurston-Bowles Bldg., CB 7178, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7178, USA. dhover@medicine.edu
Insights
Prenatal cocaine exposure in rats led to lasting changes in emotional behavior, including reduced social interaction and increased immobility in the forced-swim test. These effects persisted into adulthood, indicating enduring impacts on anxiety and stress responses.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Prenatal exposure to substances like cocaine can significantly impact offspring neurodevelopment and behavior.
- Understanding the long-term consequences of prenatal cocaine exposure is crucial for public health and intervention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the enduring effects of prenatal cocaine administration on emotional and anxiety-related behaviors in rats.
- To assess behavioral changes at different developmental stages following in-utero cocaine exposure.
Main Methods:
- Rats were administered cocaine (15 mg/kg b.i.d.) between gestational days 1-20.
- Behavioral assessments included the social interaction test, elevated plus maze, forced-swim test, acoustic startle response, and prepulse inhibition.
- Testing occurred at various ages (30, 50-60, and 120 days) to evaluate enduring effects.
Main Results:
- Prenatal cocaine exposure resulted in decreased social interaction and increased immobility in the forced-swim test at 30 and 120 days of age.
- No significant differences were observed in the elevated plus maze test.
- Prenatal cocaine exposure enhanced sensitivity to phencyclidine's effect on startle responses and altered prepulse inhibition.
Conclusions:
- Prenatal cocaine administration induces enduring alterations in emotional and anxiety-related behaviors in rats.
- These behavioral changes manifest across different developmental periods and indicate long-lasting neurobiological impacts.
- The findings highlight the persistent vulnerability of offspring exposed to cocaine in utero.
Abstract:
The present studies sought to determine whether prenatal cocaine administration (15 mg/kg b.i.d. between gestational ages 1-20) had enduring effects on emotional behavior of rats. Rats prenatally treated with cocaine interacted less with other rats in the social interaction test of anxiety at both 30 and 120 days of age. However, there were no differences in the elevated plus maze test of anxiety. Rats prenatally treated with cocaine were significantly more immobile in the forced-swim test at 60 and 120 days of age. In addition, animals exposed to prenatal cocaine were more sensitive to the enhancing effect of phencyclidine (2.0 mg/kg) on startle responses to an acoustic stimulus. The cocaine-treated animals tested at 50 to 60 days of age showed higher levels of prepulse inhibition, in comparison to the saline group, after vehicle pretreatment, but not after phencyclidine. Although there were gender differences in the expression of some of these behavioral tasks, there were no gender differences in the effects of cocaine. These findings indicate that when emotional behavior is altered by prenatal cocaine administration, the effects are enduring.