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Learning and Memory Performance in a Rat Model of Perigestational Opioid Exposure
Meghan E Vogt1, Anne Z Murphy1
1Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, 100 Piedmont Ave Se., Atlanta, GA 30303.
Insights
Gestational opioid exposure impairs spatial and associative learning in adolescent rats. Environmental enrichment partially rescued these cognitive deficits in males, suggesting potential interventions for developmental effects.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Opioid prescriptions are common for women of reproductive age, with significant rates during pregnancy.
- Gestational opioid exposure leads to neurodevelopmental impairments and learning disabilities in children.
- A rat model was developed to study the effects of perigestational opioid exposure on brain development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the impact of exogenous opioid exposure during brain development on learning and memory.
- To assess cognitive performance in male and female offspring following perigestational morphine exposure.
- To evaluate the efficacy of environmental enrichment in mitigating opioid-induced neurodevelopmental deficits.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a rat model with morphine exposure initiated before pregnancy and continued through the first postnatal week.
- Assessed adolescent male and female offspring on spatial learning (Barnes Maze) and associative learning (Attentional Set Shift Task).
- Investigated the effect of environmental enrichment on cognitive performance in offspring exposed to morphine during gestation.
Main Results:
- Morphine exposure selectively impaired spatial and associative learning in adolescent offspring.
- Working and short-term memory were not significantly impacted by gestational opioid exposure.
- Environmental enrichment rescued spatial learning deficits in males but not in females.
Conclusions:
- Gestational opioid exposure impairs complex cognitive functions, specifically spatial and associative learning.
- Non-invasive interventions like environmental enrichment may attenuate some cognitive deficits.
- Findings highlight the lasting neurodevelopmental consequences of prenatal opioid exposure and potential therapeutic avenues.
Rationale:
Nearly one third of women of reproductive age in the United States are prescribed opioids annually; 14% will fill an opioid prescription during pregnancy, and one in five report misuse. Opioid use during pregnancy has given rise to an increasing population of infants born with gestational opioid exposure. At school age, these children show neurodevelopmental impairment and higher rates of learning disability.
Objectives:
To characterize how exposure to exogenous opioids during brain development affects learning and memory performance, our lab has developed a rat model of perigestational opioid exposure that closely recapitulates a clinically relevant dosing timeline by beginning morphine exposure before pregnancy and continuing through the first postnatal week. Male and female offspring generated from this model were assessed on several facets of learning and memory during adolescence.
Results:
Here, we report that morphine exposure selectively impaired spatial learning, as measured by the Barnes Maze, and associative learning, as measured by an Attentional Set Shift Task, without significantly impacting working or short-term memory. Environmental enrichment rescued the spatial learning deficit in males but not females.
Conclusion:
Our findings suggest that gestational opioid exposure can impair performance in complex cognitive tasks that are attenuated by non-invasive, non-pharmacological intervention.
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