Neurobehavioral profiles of neonates exposed to cocaine prenatally.
This study examined the effects of maternal cocaine use on performance on the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS). Cocaine-exposed newborns (n = 56) were compared with a non-cocaine-exposed group (n = 30) born to mothers with similar sociodemographic characteristics. Cocaine-exposed newborns showed significant reduction in birth weight but did not experience greater obstetric or postnatal complications. On neurobehavioral assessments using the NBAS, cocaine-exposed newborns showed significantly depressed performance on the habituation cluster but not on other NBAS clusters when differences in birth weight were controlled. In a sample of 30 cocaine-exposed newborns matched on birth weight, gestational age, and race to the 30 non-cocaine-exposed newborns, cocaine-exposed newborns continued to show depressed habituation performance. The significance of a selective effect of cocaine exposure on early habituation performance is discussed in terms of the implications for attentional regulation in the first year of life.
Mayes
L C
LC
Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, CT 06510.
Granger
R H
RH
Frank
M A
MA
Schottenfeld
R
R
Bornstein
M H
MH
D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003042:Cocaine / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
D003042:Cocaine