Prenatal Cannabis Exposure is Associated with Occipitotemporal Brain Surface Area in Neonates

Prenatal cannabis use has been associated with neurodevelopmental consequences for the offspring beginning in childhood; however, it is unclear if neonatal brain structural morphometry is impacted shortly after birth.

We examined differences in regional surface morphometry among neonates exposed to chronic in utero cannabis compared to unexposed neonates.

The Moms Helping Moms study is a prospective pre-birth cohort selected based on chronic prenatal cannabis use and an unexposed control group. Exclusion criteria included alcohol, tobacco, or other substance use. Participants included in this analysis included 18 mother-neonate pairs with prenatal cannabis exposure and 21 unexposed pairs. Chronic cannabis exposure was based on detection of cannabis metabolites in maternal biospecimens in the third trimester and infant biospecimens at birth.

T1-weighted structural images were obtained on neonates at a median postnatal age of 24 days (IQR 18-27 days). The analysis focused on the prefrontal (superior frontal) and occipitotemporal regions (the fusiform and lingual gyri) using NEOCIVET with Destrieux parcellation to derive mean cortical thickness and total surface area. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) generalized linear regression models were used to adjust for structural confounding bias.

No differences in cortical thickness were detected in the regions of interest. Surface area was significantly lower among the exposed neonates in the right fusiform gyrus and right lingual gyrus.

Prenatal cannabis use impacted neonatal surface area in the occipitotemporal region that were detectable in the first month of life.