Animal Study Finds Males More Affected by Prenatal Cocaine Use

Cocaine use during pregnancy appears to be linked to impulsive behavior among male children but not females, according to researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

HealthDay News reported Oct. 23 that a study of monkeys exposed to cocaine during pregnancy found that their male offspring — but not the females — had impulse-control problems even 15 years after birth.

“We’re looking for ways to predict which individuals are going to take drugs during their lives. It was very surprising to see that, even more than a decade after the prenatal cocaine exposure, the monkeys ended up being more impulsive and possibly more susceptible to drug use,” said lead researcher Lindsey Hamilton. “It was particularly interesting, however, that this effect was only seen in the males. Something is either protecting the females from the effects of the cocaine exposure in the womb or making the males more susceptible to the lasting effects.”

The findings were presented at the recent annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.