White matter fiber architecture of the brain. Credit: Human Connectome Project.
A new study by UNC researchers, based on MRI brain scans of 152 infants, found disruptions in functional connectivity within part of the amygdala-prefrontal network - a pathway thought to play an important role in arousal regulation.
"To our knowledge, this study is the first to show that maternal drug use during pregnancy alters the brain's functional organization in newborns," said Wei Gao, PhD, assistant professor of radiology in the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and one of the two corresponding authors of the study, published in the April 8, 2015 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.
"This study may inform new strategies aimed at early risk identification and intervention," said Karen M. Grewen, PhD, the study's other corresponding author and associate professor of psychiatry, neurobiology and psychology.
In the study, 152 infants were given resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) scans. Of these, 45 had prenatal exposure to cocaine, 43 had prenatal exposure to drugs other than cocaine, and 64 had no known prenatal drug exposure.
Alterations in the brain's functional organization were found in both groups that had prenatal drug exposure. The group with prenatal cocaine exposure had additional alterations that the other drug control group did not have. A reduced anti-correlation between the amygdala and part of the prefrontal cortex was found to be specifically associated with prenatal cocaine exposure, which may indicate a potential failure, or risk for failure, in the suppression of amygdala responses from the higher-order prefrontal cortex. The disruption of this functional circuit may potentially underlie the arousal dysregulation trait frequently observed for infants with prenatal cocaine exposure.
Overall, this study revealed that rsfMRI in infants may play a pivotal role in the search for objective biomarkers for the identification of risks and guidance of early intervention to improve later behavioral outcomes.
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White matter fiber architecture of the brain. Credit: Human Connectome Project.
A new study by UNC researchers, based on MRI brain scans of 152 infants, found disruptions in functional connectivity within part of the amygdala-prefrontal network - a pathway thought to play an important role in arousal regulation.
"To our knowledge, this study is the first to show that maternal drug use during pregnancy alters the brain's functional organization in newborns," said Wei Gao, PhD, assistant professor of radiology in the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and one of the two corresponding authors of the study, published in the April 8, 2015 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.
"This study may inform new strategies aimed at early risk identification and intervention," said Karen M. Grewen, PhD, the study's other corresponding author and associate professor of psychiatry, neurobiology and psychology.
In the study, 152 infants were given resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) scans. Of these, 45 had prenatal exposure to cocaine, 43 had prenatal exposure to drugs other than cocaine, and 64 had no known prenatal drug exposure.
Alterations in the brain's functional organization were found in both groups that had prenatal drug exposure. The group with prenatal cocaine exposure had additional alterations that the other drug control group did not have. A reduced anti-correlation between the amygdala and part of the prefrontal cortex was found to be specifically associated with prenatal cocaine exposure, which may indicate a potential failure, or risk for failure, in the suppression of amygdala responses from the higher-order prefrontal cortex. The disruption of this functional circuit may potentially underlie the arousal dysregulation trait frequently observed for infants with prenatal cocaine exposure.
Overall, this study revealed that rsfMRI in infants may play a pivotal role in the search for objective biomarkers for the identification of risks and guidance of early intervention to improve later behavioral outcomes.
Explore further: Baby cries show evidence of cocaine exposure during pregnancy
Medical Xpress on facebook
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Baby cries show evidence of cocaine exposure during pregnancy
A new study conducted by University of North Carolina School of Medicine researchers provides the first known evidence of how a similar acoustic characteristic in the cry sounds of human infants and rat pups ...
Mother's behavior has strong effect on cocaine-exposed children
It is not only prenatal drug exposure, but also conditions related to drug use that can influence negative behavior in children, according to a new study from the University at Buffalo's Research Institute ...
Rat brains point to lead's role in schizophrenia
A study of the brains of rats exposed to lead has uncovered striking similarities with what is known about the brains of human schizophrenia patients, adding compelling evidence that lead is a factor in the ...
Prenatal drug exposure linked to sleep problems in children
In the first study across time into late childhood of the effects of prenatal drug exposure on sleep, prenatal drug exposure is associated with greater sleep problems in children. In addition, nicotine has a unique effect, ...
Cicardian system suffers and protects from prenatal cocaine exposure
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have shown that prenatal cocaine exposure in zebrafish (which share the majority of the same genes with humans) can alter neuronal development and acutely dysregulate ...
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The prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays an important role in cognitive functions such as attention, memory and decision-making. Faulty wiring between PFC and other brain areas is thought to give rise to a variety ...
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There's a stroke every 10 minutes in Canada. Of those, about 10-15 per cent are triggered by arterial ruptures and uncontrolled bleeding in the brain, and are incredibly devastating. These are the strokes ...
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