The Effects of Prenatal Cocaine-Exposure On Cognitive Development

From fetal growth to early childhood, there are many factors in child development. Teratogenic factors (external factors) have a major influence on the endogenous development of babies. Several external factors such as passive smoke, smoke, or smoke from cleaning chemicals can adversely affect children in the uterus. Some of the major influences of teratogenic substances have a consequence on low birth weight, head circumference, slow body development, and spiritual, behavioral, and motoristic skill (Berk, 2003).

Prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) is associated with minor defects in cognitive and behavioral functions during infancy, childhood and adolescence. Little is known about the effects of intrauterine PCE on early brain development which may cause these injuries. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in infant brain structure with or without PCE. MRI scan of the newborn (average age = 5 weeks) was done to investigate the influence of cocaine on early brain structure development. Subjects were 3 groups of infants, 33 PCE patients coexisting with other drugs, 46 patients without drug management, and patients prenatally exposed to other drugs (nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, opioid, SSRI) 40 Man. PCE infants had lower total gray matter (GM) and larger total cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) than infants exposed to control and non-cocaine drugs. PCE infants have a large CSF that is present in the prefrontal cortex, frontal lobe and crown but not in the occipital region.

Prenatal cocaine exposure adversely affects the growth of the fetus and has a subtle effect on the neural behavior of the infant. However, there is little evidence to support association of congenital anomalies or withdrawal. There is no consensus on the long-term growth or achievement of prenatal cocaine exposure, but there is a record showing a long-term impact on behavior and a slight effect on language. There is little evidence to support the overall cognitive impact, but many studies document the impact of executive function on specific areas.

Syndrome with the lowest sensitivity of diagnostic criteria 188 There was no independent influence of prenatal cannabis exposure on growth from infancy to adolescence. Current literature on the impact of prenatal cocaine exposure on overall child's growth and development is not definitive. Several studies demonstrated the adverse effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on postpartum growth, but 187-189 did not study the association between prenatal growth methamphetamine exposure and postnatal growth problems. However, studies not explicitly using amphetamine suggest that intrauterine exposure may be associated with poor growth in early childhood.