The contribution of fetal drug exposure to temperament: potential teratogenic effects on neuropsychiatric risk.
BACKGROUND
Preliminary evidence indicates that fetal drug exposure may be associated with alterations in temperament. However, studies often do not dissociate the potential effects of drug exposure from other perinatal or environmental factors that could influence temperament phenotypes.


METHODS
High risk children (n = 120) were followed from birth to 6 months of age to determine the effects of fetal drug exposure on temperament, after controlling for the child's gender, gestational age, medical morbidity, ethnicity, and maltreatment as well as the mother's stress, income adequacy, and quality of caregiving. Methods included medical chart review, questionnaires, and videotapes of mother-child interaction.


RESULTS
Preliminary analyses indicated that fetal drug exposure was associated with both distractibility and intensity of children's responses to the environment at 6 months of age. After adjusting for potentially confounding variables, drug exposure accounted for 12% of the variance in distractibility but was not a significant predictor in the regression model for intensity.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings suggest that drug-exposed children may experience difficulty sustaining their focus of attention and be more easily distracted by environmental stimuli than non-drug-exposed children. Results converge with previous research to implicate cortical hyperarousal, stemming from teratogenic effects on the dopaminergic system during fetal development.
Department of Community Health Systems, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143-0608, USA. sweiss@itsa.ucsf.edu
Sandra J
SJ
Weiss
Mary
M
St Jonn-Seed
Carolyn
C
Harris-Muchell
D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects*; D004644:Emotions / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000009:adverse effects*; D007223:Infant; D018730:Infant Behavior / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000523:psychology; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013694:Temperament / Q000187:drug effects*; D014743:Videotape Recording
D013287:Illicit Drugs