Altered motor development following late gestational alcohol and cannabinoid exposure in rats

Publication date: Available online 31 March 2019Source: Neurotoxicology and TeratologyAuthor(s): Kristen R. Breit, Brandonn Zamudio, Jennifer D. ThomasAbstractCannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug among pregnant women, and rates are likely to increase given recent legalization. In addition, half of pregnant women who report consuming cannabis also report drinking alcohol. However, little is known about the consequences of prenatal cannabis alone or combination with alcohol, particularly with cannabis products that are continually increasing in potency of the primary psychoactive constituent in cannabis, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The current study investigated the effects of early exposure to cannabinoids during the brain growth spurt on early physical and motor development alone (Experiment 1) or in combination with alcohol (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, Sprague-Dawley rat pups were exposed to a cannabinoid receptor agonist (CP-55,940 [CP]; 0.1, 0.25, 0.4 mg/kg/day), the drug vehicle, or a saline control from postnatal days (PD) 4–9. In Experiment 2, rat pups were exposed to CP (0.4 mg/kg/day) or the vehicle, and were additionally intubated with alcohol (11.9% v/v; 5.25 g/kg/day) or received a sham intubation. Subjects in both experiments were tested on a motor development task (PD 12–20) and a motor coordination task during adolescence (PD 30–32). Both developmental cannabinoid and alcohol exposure separately decreased body growth throughout dev...
Source: Neurotoxicology and Teratology - Category: Toxicology Source Type: research