Chronic cocaine exposure during pregnancy increases postpartum neuroendocrine stress responses

The cycle of chronic cocaine (CC) use and withdrawal results in increased anxiety, depression and disrupted stress-responsiveness. Oxytocin and corticosterone (CORT) interact to mediate hormonal stress responses and can be altered by cocaine use. These neuroendocrine signals play important regulatory roles in a variety of social behaviours, specifically during the postpartum period, and are sensitive to disruption by CC exposure in both clinical settings and preclinical models. To determine whether CC exposure during pregnancy affected behavioural and hormonal stress response in the early postpartum period in a rodent model, Sprague-Dawley rats were administered cocaine daily (30 mg/kg) throughout gestation (days 1-20). Open field test (OFT) and forced swim test (FST) behaviours were measured on postpartum day 5. Plasma CORT concentrations were measured before and after testing throughout the test day, whereas plasma and brain oxytocin concentrations were measured post-testing only. The results obtained indicated increased CORT response after the OFT in CC-treated dams (P ≤ 0.05). CC-treated dams also exhibited altered FST behaviour (P ≤ 0.05), suggesting abnormal stress responsiveness. Peripheral, but not central, oxytocin levels were increased by cocaine treatment (P ≤ 0.05). Peripheral oxytocin and CORT increased after the FST, regardless of treatment condition (P ≤ 0.05). Changes in stress-responsiveness, both behaviourally and hormonally, may underlie some deficits in maternal behaviour; thus, a clearer understanding of the effect of CC on the stress response system may potentially lead to treatment interventions that could be relevant to clinical populations. Additionally, these results indicate that CC treatment can have long-lasting effects on peripheral oxytocin regulation in rats, similar to changes observed in persistent social behaviour and stress-response deficits in clinical populations.