Visual Selective Attention Is Impaired in Children Prenatally Exposed to Opioid Agonist Medication

Abstract

Aims: To examine whether prenatal exposure to opioid agonist medication is associated with visual selective attention and general attention problems in early childhood. Method: Twenty-two children (mean age = 52.17 months, SD = 1.81) prenatally exposed to methadone, 9 children (mean age = 52.41 months, SD = 1.42) prenatally exposed to buprenorphine and 25 nonexposed comparison children (mean age = 51.44 months, SD = 1.31) were tested. Visual selective attention was measured with a Tobii 1750 Eye Tracker using a spatial negative priming paradigm. Attention problems were measured using the Child Behavior Checklist. Results: The comparison group demonstrated a larger spatial negative priming effect (mean = 23.50, SD = 45.50) than the exposed group [mean = -6.84, SD = 86.39, F(1,50) = 5.91, p = 0.019, η² = 0.11]. No difference in reported attention problems was found [F(1,51) = 1.63, p = 0.21, η² = 0.03]. Neonatal abstinence syndrome and prenatal exposure to marijuana were found to predict slower saccade latencies in the exposed group (b = 54.55, SE = 23.56, p = 0.03 and b = 88.86, SE = 32.07, p = 0.01, respectively). Conclusion: Although exposed children did not appear to have attention deficits in daily life, lower performance on the SNP task indicates subtle alteration in the attention system.

Buprenorphine compared with methadone to treat pregnant women with opioid use disorder: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of safety in the mother, fetus and child

“…One found no significant difference in visual selective attention among 31 children of mothers treated with BUP versus MET 40. The second study found significantly prolonged visual latency in 22 infants of MET‐treated mothers compared with 30 infants of BUP‐treated mothers 49.…”

“…Of 1111 citations identified, 140 full‐text papers were assessed for eligibility, and 18 studies 18, 19, 20, 21, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49 (reported in 23 papers 18, 19, 20, 21, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52) satisfied our inclusion criteria (Fig. 1).…”

“…The only three RCTs 19, 20, 21 (six papers 19, 20, 21, 50, 51, 52) that have been conducted to date were included (223 participants; published 2005–10) (Supporting information, Table S2). Fifteen OBSs 18, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 (17 papers) 18, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49 enrolled a total of 1923 participants in prospective 18, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 45, 46, 47 ( n  = 12) or retrospective 43, 44, 48 ( n  = 3) cohort studies published 2001–15. No case–control studies were identified.…”

“…Statistical heterogeneity was low among the main analyses except for growth outcomes [birth weight (two RCTs, I 2  = 50%); LBW (two OBSs, I 2  = 62%); and SGA (two OBSs, I 2  = 50%)]. ROB was rated medium for each RCT ( n =  3, Supporting information, Table S3) and medium ( n  = 9) 18, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 48, 49 or high ( n  = 8) 34, 35, 36, 37, 44, 45, 46, 47 for all OBSs (Supporting information, Table S4). Twelve OBSs assessed the balance between treatment groups for various confounding factors at study enrollment (Supporting information, Table S2), but only two OBSs adjusted for confounding factors in estimating treatment effects 39, 48.…”

Behavioural outcomes of four-year-old children prenatally exposed to methadone or buprenorphine: a test of three risk models

“…This study is one of several based on the cohort Konijnenberg & Melinder, 2015;Lund et al, 2012;Melinder et al, 2013;Sarfi, Smith, Waal, & Sundet, 2011;Sarfi et al, 2013). While not all mothers participated in interviews at the 4-year follow up, this is not likely to affect the representativeness of the sample, as described in a previous study on the cohort (Lund et al, 2014).…”