Child neglect and abuse is highly correlated with cocaine abuse by their mothers, and young children prenatally exposed to cocaine exhibit early signs of neurobehavioral stress, including excessive and high- pitched crying, increased state lability, decreased responsiveness to caregivers, stress-related behavioral differences, and poor social behavior in later life. Animal models can more directly assess the neurobiological and behavioral effects of drug exposure than can human studies, and can tie informative for the focus of human research. Using a rat model of cocaine-induced maternal neglect, we reported that chronic gestational cocaine treatment decreased matemal behavior towards their own and non-treated pups, and importantly, that cocaine-treated and control mothers exhibited less matemal behavior towards cocaine-exposed pups. Research on the effects of in utero cocaine exposure on early brain development and behaviors that may alter the matemal behavior received is relatively sparse. Rodent mothers attend to specific stimuli of pups such as vocalization, temperature, and olfactory stimulus cues. Thus, specific attributes of cocaine-exposed pups may be altered, and thus elicit differential care from dams. The proposed studies are designed to determine if cocaine-exposed pups exhibit alterations in pup- produced stimuli that could influence the elicitation of matemal care in the early postnatal period, and if there are specific neurological differences associated with alterations in stimuli produced by these pups, which could suggest mechanisms responsible for disruption of mother-infant interactions. By determining the effects of cocaine on pup ultrasonic vocalizations, themiogenesis in individuals pups, and the chemical composition of urine we can accurately assess differences in stimuli produced by cocaine exposed pups as potential effectors of matemal neglect. In addition, using imaging techniques (MRI) we may be able to target specific structures in the search for neurological effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on the developing brain, using a measure directly translational to clinical practice and diagnosis. These studies will further our understanding of prenatal cocaine's effects on offspring behavioral development relevant to the maternal response, and has great translational value for future clinical interventions. UNC is an ideal environment to complete the proposed experiments as part of my formal doctoral training in Behavioral Neuroscience, as there are many strong investigators with interests and expertise in substance abuse research. During and after my training at UNC, I hope to continue translational research in drug abuse research working with both clinical and basic scientists.
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