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Play behavior and stress responsivity in periadolescent offspring exposed prenatally to cocaine
R D Wood1, V A Molina, J M Wagner
1Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, NY 13902, USA.
Insights
Prenatal cocaine exposure in rats alters stress responses and social behavior. Offspring showed reduced stress reactivity and elicited less social play from peers, indicating lasting effects of gestational drug exposure.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Toxicology
Background:
- Prenatal exposure to substances like cocaine can have long-lasting effects on offspring development.
- Understanding the impact of gestational cocaine exposure on stress and social behaviors is crucial for public health.
- Previous research suggests altered stress responsiveness in adult rats exposed to cocaine prenatally.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of gestational cocaine exposure on play behavior and stress responsiveness in periadolescent rats.
- To determine if prenatal cocaine exposure alters social interaction cues in juvenile rats.
Main Methods:
- Sprague-Dawley rat dams received daily injections of cocaine hydrochloride (C40) or saline (PF) during gestation; controls (LC) were untreated.
- Periadolescent offspring (postnatal days 30-36) were exposed to stressors (foot shock, white noise, forced swim) before play sessions.
- Stress responsiveness was assessed by immobility during foot shock; play behavior involved paired social interaction sessions.
Main Results:
- Offspring exposed gestationally to cocaine exhibited altered stress responsivity, failing to show increased immobility during foot shock.
- Cocaine-exposed juveniles did not differ in their own play behavior but elicited less play solicitation from peers.
- This included increased latency to be pounced and decreased frequency/duration of being pounced.
Conclusions:
- Gestational cocaine exposure leads to altered stress responsiveness in periadolescent rats.
- Prenatal cocaine exposure results in altered social cueing, affecting peer interactions.
- These findings highlight the persistent neurodevelopmental consequences of prenatal drug exposure.
Abstract:
Play behavior and stress responsiveness were examined in offspring exposed gestationally to cocaine. The subjects were offspring of Sprague-Dawley rat dams given s.c. injections of 40 mg/kg/3 cc cocaine HC1 daily from gestational days 8-20 (C40), pair-fed dams injected daily with saline (PF), and untreated control dams (LC). Periadolescent (postnatal day (P) 30-36) male and female rats were assigned to either pretest Stress or No Stress conditions. Every other day Stress animals were exposed to a stressor (on P30--foot shock; P32--white noise; P34--forced swim; P36--foot shock), with each stressor being administered 4 h prior to a play session. Immobility during one of the stressors, foot shock, was used to assess stress responsiveness. Play sessions consisted of pairing each experimental animal with a same-sex, nonexperimentally manipulated conspecific for 7 min. The results indicated that periadolescent offspring exposed gestationally to cocaine differed from controls in their stress responsivity, as evidenced by a failure to show increased immobility during the final foot shock session. Also, while cocaine-exposed juveniles did not differ from controls in their own play behavior, these offspring elicited less play solicitation from conspecifics, as evidenced by an increased latency to be pounced, and decreased frequency and duration of being pounced. These findings parallel earlier evidence for altered stress responsiveness in adult cocaine-exposed rats and also suggest that prenatal exposure to cocaine results in altered social cues.