Journal
NEUROTOXICOLOGY AND TERATOLOGY
Volume 66, Issue -, Pages 46-54Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.ntt.2018.01.010
Keywords
Brain; Executive function; fMRI; Opioid; Prenatal drug exposure
Categories
Funding
- Alcohol and Drug Research Western Norway (KoRFor)
- Western Norway Health Authority [912005]
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Background: Opioid induced cerebral changes may contribute to neuropsychological difficulties, like attention problems, frequently reported in prenatally opioid-exposed children. Reduced regional brain volumes have been shown after prenatal opioid exposure, but no study to date has explored the possible impact of prenatal opioids on brain activation patterns. Materials and methods: A hospital-based sample of prenatally opioid-exposed school-aged children (n = 11) and unexposed controls (n = 12) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a combined working memory-selective attention task. Within-group- and between-group analyses of blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) activation were performed using the SPM12 software package and group differences in task performance were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards modeling. Results: Overall, similar patterns of task related parietal and prefrontal BOLD activations were found in both groups. The opioid-exposed group showed impaired task performance, and during the most cognitive demanding versions of the working memory-selective attention task, increased activation in prefrontal cortical areas was found in the opioid-exposed group compared to controls. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that prenatal opioids affect later brain function, visible through changes in BOLD activation patterns. However, results should be considered preliminary until replicated in larger samples better suited to control for potential confounding factors.
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