An examination of the association between prenatal cocaine exposure and brain activation measures of arousal and attention in young adults: An fMRI study using the Attention Network Task

• Published in: Neurotoxicology and teratology 2018-09, Vol.69, p.1-10
• Main Authors: Willford, Jennifer A., Singhabahu, Dil, Herat, Athula, Richardson, Gale A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arousal - physiology; Attention; Attention - physiology; Brain - physiopathology; Cannabis - adverse effects; Case-Control Studies; Cocaine - adverse effects; Drug Interactions; Ethanol - adverse effects; Female; fMRI; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Neuroimaging; Neuropsychological Tests; Nicotiana - adverse effects; Pregnancy; Prenatal alcohol; Prenatal cocaine; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects - physiopathology; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects - psychology; Prenatal marijuana; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0892-0362; 1872-9738
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ntt.2018.06.004

Prenatal drug exposure, including cocaine, alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco, is associated with deficits in behavioral regulation and attention. Using fMRI, the objective of this study was to characterize the association between prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) and the underlying neural substrates associated with behavioral outcomes of attention. Forty-seven young adults were recruited for this study from the ongoing Maternal Health Practices and Child Development (MHPCD) Project, a longitudinal study of the effects of PCE on growth, behavior, and cognitive function. Three groups were compared: 1) prenatal exposure to cocaine, alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco (CAMT, n = 15), 2) prenatal exposure to alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco (AMT, n = 17), and 3) no prenatal exposure to drugs (Controls, n = 15). Subjects were frequency matched on gender, race, handedness, and 15-year IQ. This study used the theoretical model proposed by Posner and Peterson (1990), which posits three dissociable components of attention: alerting, orienting, and executive attention. Subjects completed a functional MRI (fMRI) scan while performing the Attention Network Task, a validated neuroimaging measure of the 3-network model of attention. Behavioral and fMRI data revealed no associations between PCE and task accuracy, speed of processing, or activation in key brain regions associated with each of the attention networks. The results of this study show that any subtle differences in brain function associated with PCE are not detectable using the ANT task and fMRI. These results should be interpreted in the context of other studies that have found associations between PCE and arousal with emotionally arousing stimuli, compared to this study that found no associations using emotionally neutral stimuli. •Objective: characterize association between prenatal cocaine use and underlying neural substrates associated with attention.•Young adults were prenatally exposed to: cocaine, alcohol, marijuana, tobacco; alcohol, marijuana, tobacco; or no drugs.•Subjects completed the Attention Network Task, a neuroimaging measure of Posner's model of attention, during an fMRI.•Any subtle differences in brain function associated with prenatal cocaine were not detectable using the ANT task and fMRI.