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Child neuroanatomical, neurocognitive, and visual acuity outcomes with maternal opioid and polysubstance

Kristine B Walhovd1, Astrid Bjørnebekk1, Kristin Haabrekke2

  • 1Research Group for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Unit of Neuropsychology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.

Pediatric Neurology
|January 18, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Maternal detoxification during pregnancy prevented neuroanatomical and neurocognitive differences in children. However, drug-exposed children showed lower visual acuity, highlighting a need for further research on long-term outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Maternal opioid and polysubstance use during pregnancy poses risks to child neurodevelopment.
  • Previous studies indicated neuroanatomical and neurocognitive differences in offspring of non-detoxified mothers.
  • This study investigated outcomes in children whose mothers underwent detoxification.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if maternal detoxification during pregnancy mitigates neuroanatomical and neurocognitive deficits in offspring.
  • To compare neurodevelopmental outcomes between children of detoxified mothers and a comparison group.

Main Methods:

  • Recruited mothers with opioid/polysubstance abuse and their infants from treatment centers.
  • Included a comparison group of mothers and infants from child health centers.
  • Assessed children at 4.5 years using MRI, neurocognitive, and visual acuity tests.

Main Results:

  • No significant differences in neuroanatomical volumes or cortical characteristics were found.
  • General neurocognitive functioning did not differ between groups.
  • Children exposed to drugs showed significantly lower left eye visual acuity and a trend toward lower binocular visual acuity.

Conclusions:

  • Maternal detoxification appears to prevent gross neuroanatomical and neurocognitive differences in children.
  • Visual acuity deficits in the drug-exposed group warrant attention and further investigation.
  • Larger studies are needed to understand long-term and specific outcomes in this at-risk population.
Abstract

Keywords:
MRIbraindetoxificationdevelopmentneurocognitiveopioidoutcomevision

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