Impact of gestational cocaine treatment or prenatal cocaine exposure on early postpartum oxytocin mRNA levels and receptor binding in the rat

Abstract Prior research reported decreased oxytocin levels in specific brain regions correlated with disruptions in maternal care following gestational cocaine treatment in rats. Similarly, prenatal exposure to cocaine impaired subsequent maternal behavior in adulthood, but behavioral alterations we...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuropeptides (Edinburgh) 2008-10, Vol.42 (5), p.641-652
Main Authors: McMurray, M.S, Cox, E.T, Jarrett, T.M, Williams, S.K, Walker, C.H, Johns, J.M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Advanced Basic Science
Animals
Animals, Newborn - metabolism
Biological and medical sciences
Brain - anatomy & histology
Brain - drug effects
Brain - metabolism
Cocaine
Cocaine - pharmacology
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Intergenerational
Male
Maternal behavior
Maternal Behavior - drug effects
Maternal Behavior - physiology
Medical sciences
Neuropharmacology
Oxytocin - genetics
Oxytocin - metabolism
Oxytocin mRNA
Oxytocin receptor
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Pregnancy
Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects - metabolism
Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer
Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer..., (alzheimer disease)
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopharmacology
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Receptors, Oxytocin - metabolism
Vertebrates: endocrinology
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Summary:Abstract Prior research reported decreased oxytocin levels in specific brain regions correlated with disruptions in maternal care following gestational cocaine treatment in rats. Similarly, prenatal exposure to cocaine impaired subsequent maternal behavior in adulthood, but behavioral alterations were not associated with decreases in oxytocin levels in the same brain regions as were found in their cocaine-treated rat dams. To determine if other aspects of the oxytocin system are disrupted by cocaine treatment or prenatal exposure to cocaine during critical time points associated with maternal care, oxytocin mRNA transcription and receptor binding were examined on postpartum day two in relevant brain regions following gestational treatment with, or prenatal exposure to, either cocaine or saline. We hypothesized that oxytocin mRNA levels and receptor binding would be differentially affected by cocaine in the early postpartum period of dams and their offspring. Our findings indicate that gestational cocaine treatment resulted in significant increases in oxytocin mRNA levels in only the paraventricular nucleus of cocaine-treated dams, with almost significant increases in both generations in the supraoptic nucleus, but no significant effects of cocaine on receptor binding in either generation of dams. These findings indicate that in addition to oxytocin levels, cocaine treatment or prenatal exposure primarily affects oxytocin mRNA synthesis, with little effect on receptor binding in specific brain regions associated with maternal behavior in the early postpartum period of the rat.
ISSN:0143-4179
1532-2785
DOI:10.1016/j.npep.2008.05.003