Cocaine exposure during pregnancy leads to impulsivity in male, not femal...(ionship between this dopamine metabolite...),Health

Since decreased impulse control is a defining characteristic of cocaine addicts, Hamilton and her colleagues are currently working on an ongoing study to assess whether the monkeys that were prenatally exposed to cocaine will be more likely to self-administer drugs in adulthood.

So far, Hamilton said, it appears that the male monkeys exposed to cocaine in utero are more likely to self-administer the drug, even in low doses, than controls. Again, the difference is not being observed in the female monkeys.

"Our studies indicate that males may be more vulnerable to the long-lasting behavioral and neurobiological consequences of cocaine exposure during gestation than females, suggesting male children who were exposed to cocaine during their mothers' pregnancies may be predisposed to abuse drugs in adulthood," Hamilton said.

It has been estimated that there are about 7.5 million children in the United States that were exposed to cocaine during gestation and between 30,000 and 160,000 infants born each year who have been prenatally exposed to cocaine, according to the National Pregnancy and Health Survey, the Department of Health and Human Services and previous research. The effects of cocaine use during pregnancy on children's development are not well established.

"Whether or not these children who were exposed to cocaine in the womb may be more vulnerable to drug use is a timely question," Hamilton said, "both because these children are now young adults, a time when a lot of drug experimentation occurs, and because cocaine abuse among young women of childbearing age is a growing problem in this country."

It is challenging to study children exposed to cocaine in utero because ther
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