Neuroimaging of prenatal drug exposure. A symposium in the Neurobehavioral Teratology Society Annual meeting, Vancouver, June 28-30, 2004. Organizer: Diana Dow-Edwards, Ph.D. Applicant organization: Research Foundation of the State University of New York, Downstate, Brooklyn, NY. The purpose of this symposium is to bring together individuals who are currently utilizing in vivo imaging techniques to study the effects of prenatal substance abuse in clinical populations. The symposium presenters include those individuals who are actively imaging prenatally exposed children. The symposium will provide an opportunity for scientists who have recently received support for imaging drug-exposed children to exchange ideas and experience with those further along in this endeavor. In addition, scientists will present fetal pharmacokinetics of cocaine using PET/MR/technology in the primate and ISHH of molecular changes in a human fetal inner-city population with a 30% marijuana exposure rate. The symposium will be introduced by Diana Dow-Edwards, PhD who has worked in the area of developmental effects of substance abuse and functional imaging for over 15 years. Then, Helene Benveniste, MD, PhD from Brookhaven National Labs will present: Drug exposure in the womb: PET/MRI imaging of drug transfer in pregnant non-human primates. The next speaker will be Emmalee Bandstra, MD who will speak on Neuroimaging in prenatally cocaine-exposed children. The next speaker will be Linda Chang, MD who will speak on MR studies of children exposed to cocaine and to methamphetamine prenatally. The last speaker will be Yasmin Hurd, PhD from the Karolinska Inst who will speak on Imaging of human fetal brain; Effects of marijuana exposure. The information will be published in Neurotoxicology and Teratology as a symposium summary following review.
