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Long-Term Neurodevelopmental Risks in Children Exposed in Utero to Cocaine: The Toronto Adoption Studya

Gideon Koren1, Irena Nulman1, Joanne Rovet1

  • 1Motherisk Program, bDivisions of Clinical Pharmacology and dPsychology Research, b,dThe Research Institute; The Hospital for Sick Children, and b,c,dDepartment of Pediatrics, Pharmacology University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaPsychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaFaculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
|November 1, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Children exposed to cocaine in utero face neurobehavioral risks. Adoption studies reveal cocaine

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Prenatal cocaine exposure is linked to neurobehavioral deficits.
  • Confounding factors like socioeconomic status and maternal addiction complicate direct toxicity assessment.
  • Adoption studies offer a method to isolate drug effects.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the direct neurotoxic effects of prenatal cocaine exposure.
  • To differentiate cocaine's impact from environmental and social factors.
  • To quantify effects on cognitive and language development.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing the Toronto Adoption Study cohort.
  • Comparing children exposed prenatally to cocaine and adopted into higher socioeconomic families.
  • Assessing neurobehavioral outcomes including IQ and language skills.

Main Results:

  • Prenatal cocaine exposure has direct, mild to moderate neurotoxic effects on IQ and language.
  • These effects are less severe than in children exposed and reared by their biological mothers.
  • Adoption into supportive environments mitigates some negative outcomes.

Conclusions:

  • Prenatal cocaine exposure causes identifiable neurodevelopmental deficits.
  • Environmental factors significantly influence the severity of these deficits.
  • Targeted interventions and supportive environments can ameliorate negative outcomes.

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