Longitudinal changes of amygdala functional connectivity in adolescents prenatally exposed to cocaine

Abstract

Background: Prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) is associated with arousal dysregulation, but interactions between exposure and age are rarely investigated directly with longitudinal study designs. Our previous study had examined task-elicited emotional arousal and noted persistently high amygdala activations in the development of adolescents with PCE. However, while externally imposed emotional arousal could be considered a "state" effect depending on specific task stimuli, it is still unclear whether similar developmental alterations extend to intrinsic functional connectivity (FC), reflecting more of a "trait" effect. Methods: We used a longitudinal design and analyzed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data acquired twice from 25 adolescents with PCE and 16 non-exposed controls. Both groups were each scanned first at the mean age of 14.3 and then again at 16.6 years. Seeding in bilateral amygdalae and comparing the 2 nd scan with the 1 st , we examined the interaction effect between PCE and age on FCs in the emotional network. Results: Compared with the younger age, we observed a generally decreased FC in the emotional network of the control group at the older age, but these FCs were generally increased at the older age in this same network of the PCE group. Additionally, this interaction effect of exposure by age in the right fusiform was positively correlated with the emotional interference imposed by external task stimuli.

Mothering, Substance Use Disorders and Intergenerational Trauma Transmission: An Attachment-Based Perspective

“…Also perinatal substance use tends to have a detrimental effect on mother-child bonding, as illustrated in many studies (50, 51). Maternal substance use is further associated with psychiatric comorbidity (52), maladaptive parenting practices (53, 54), emotional unavailability and uncertain reflective functioning (55, 56), a lack of mentalizing abilities (57), and poor infant development (58, 59), including disruptive attachment patterns in children. A recent brain imaging study (60) revealed that mothers with SUDs showed reduced activation in key reward regions of the brain in response to their infant’s cues.…”