Prenatal cocaine exposure attenuates cocaine-induced odor preference in infant rats.
In order to further examine whether prenatal cocaine exposure alters the later reward efficacy of cocaine, exposed offspring were tested for cocaine-induced odor preference early in life. Test offspring were derived from Sprague-Dawley dams that received daily SC injections of 40 mg/kg/3 cc cocaine hydrochloride (C40) from gestational day 8-20, nutritional control dams receiving daily SC saline injections (NC), and nontreated control dams (LC). At testing on postnatal day 8 (P8), both LC and NC offspring were observed to exhibit a preference for the odor that had been paired on P7 with 2.0, 5.0, or 10.0 mg/kg cocaine. In contrast, C40 offspring exhibited a significant odor preference only when the odor had been previously paired with 5.0 or 10.0 mg/kg cocaine. These results, combined with previous work from our laboratory showing that adult offspring exposed gestationally to cocaine did not exhibit a cocaine-induced conditioned place preference, provide evidence that offspring exposed prenatally to cocaine are less likely to develop a preference for stimuli associated with cocaine. Further studies are needed to determine whether these alterations in cocaine preference reflect a learning deficit, pharmacokinetics factors, or an attenuation in the rewarding properties of cocaine.
Heyser
C J
CJ
Department of Psychology, State University of New York, Binghamton 13902-6000.
Goodwin
G A
GA
Moody
C A
CA
Spear
L P
LP
D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D003042:Cocaine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D008297:Male; D009812:Odorants; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012903:Smell / Q000187:drug effects*
D003042:Cocaine