Behavioral and Neural Consequences of Prenatal Exposure to Nicotine

Ernst, Monique; Moolchan, Eric T.; Robinson, Miqun L.

doi:10.1097/00004583-200106000-00007

Cited by 524 publications

(456 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…A potential mechanism for our findings is that prenatal exposure to nicotine affects neuronal migration because we observed that cortical thickness was affected, but cortical surface area was not different in nonexposed controls and tobacco-exposed children. Indeed, early disturbances in neuronal path finding, abnormalities in cell proliferation and differentiation, and disruptions in neurotransmitter systems have been reported in animal studies (Ernst et al, 2001).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prenatal Tobacco Exposure and Brain Morphology: A Prospective Study in Young Children

Marroun

Schmidt

Franken

et al. 2013

Neuropsychopharmacol

109

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It is well known that smoking during pregnancy can affect offspring health. Prenatal tobacco exposure has been associated with negative behavioral and cognitive outcomes in childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. These associations between prenatal tobacco exposure and psychopathology in offspring could possibly be explained by the influence of prenatal tobacco exposure on brain development. In this prospective study, we investigated the association between prenatal tobacco exposure, behavioral and emotional functioning and brain morphology in young children. On the basis of age and gender, we matched 113 children prenatally exposed to tobacco with 113 unexposed controls. These children were part of a population-based study in the Netherlands, the Generation R Study, and were followed from pregnancy onward. Behavioral and emotional functioning was assessed at age 6 with the Child Behavior Checklist. We assessed brain morphology using magnetic resonance imaging techniques in children aged 6-8 years. Children exposed to tobacco throughout pregnancy have smaller total brain volumes and smaller cortical gray matter volumes. Continued prenatal tobacco exposure was associated with cortical thinning, primarily in the superior frontal, superior parietal, and precentral cortices. These children also demonstrated increased scores of affective problems. In addition, thickness of the precentral and superior frontal cortices was associated with affective problems. Importantly, brain development in offspring of mothers who quit smoking during pregnancy resembled that of nonexposed controls (no smaller brain volumes and no thinning of the cortex). Our findings suggest an association between continued prenatal tobacco exposure and brain structure and function in school-aged children.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prenatal Tobacco Exposure and Brain Morphology: A Prospective Study in Young Children

Marroun

Schmidt

Franken

et al. 2013

Neuropsychopharmacol

109

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“…Articles carbon monoxide and catecholamine-induced vasoconstriction, hypoxia, toxins from the large array of chemicals in tobacco smoke, and decreased nutrient consumption (15,16). Furthermore, unlike other forms of IUGR, MTS exposes the fetus to greater than 4,800 chemicals found in cigarette smoke during a time of sensitivity to developmental programming.…”

Section: Mts Increased Vat In Male Ratsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal tobacco smoke increased visceral adiposity and serum corticosterone levels in adult male rat offspring

Zinkhan

Lang

et al. 2014

Pediatr Res

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Background: Maternal tobacco smoke (MTS) predisposes human and rat offspring to visceral obesity in early adulthood. Glucocorticoid excess also causes visceral obesity. We hypothesized that in utero MTS would increase visceral adiposity and alter the glucocorticoid pathway in young adult rats. Methods:We developed a novel model of in utero MTS exposure in pregnant rats by exposing them to cigarette smoke from E11.5 to term. Neonatal rats were cross-fostered to control dams and weaned to standard rat chow through young adulthood (postnatal day 60). results: We demonstrated increased visceral adiposity (193%)*, increased visceral adipose 11-β hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 mRNA (204%)*, increased serum corticosterone (147%)*, and no change in glucocorticoid receptor protein in adult male MTS rat offspring. Female rats exposed to MTS in utero demonstrated no change in visceral or subcutaneous adiposity, decreased serum corticosterone (60%)*, and decreased adipose glucocorticoid receptor protein (66%)*. *P < 0.05. conclusion: We conclude that in utero MTS exposure increased visceral adiposity and altered in the glucocorticoid pathway in a sex-specific manner. We speculate that in utero MTS exposure programs adipose dysfunction in adult male rat offspring via alteration in the glucocorticoid pathway.M aternal tobacco smoke (MTS) impacts more than 13% of pregnancies despite aggressive antismoking campaigns (1). In adult human studies, MTS exposure in utero predisposes to the development of metabolic syndrome, including increased visceral adiposity (2). The increased adiposity seen after gestating in an adverse intrauterine environment, such as maternal tobacco or nicotine exposure, is often adipose depot specific, with the visceral adipose tissue (VAT) increasing in excess to the subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) (3,4).VAT seems to have a detrimental role in the development of metabolic syndrome (5,6). Even when considering dietary and lifestyle choices, MTS exposure in utero independently increases the risk of developing visceral obesity (7,8). Children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy had decreased birth weights yet an increased obesity and BMI index as early as 9-10 y of age, independent of dietary intake and activity levels (8). Furthermore, the effect of MTS on body weight was stronger when mothers smoked during pregnancy compared with that of isolated smoke exposure in childhood (7). Taken together, these findings suggest that MTS exposure during this developmentally sensitive time period both causes intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and adversely programs obesity later in life.Little insight exists on how MTS programs increased visceral adiposity. Rodent studies examining the effect of in utero MTS exposure on the offspring have not examined the etiology of increased visceral adiposity. Rodent studies of tobacco smoke exposure only during lactation demonstrate increased adiposity (9). Furthermore, rodent studies of maternal nicotine, one of the many compounds found in tobacco smoke, demonstrate increa...

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“…[4][5][6] In 1995, the total annual cost of complicated births attributable to smoking during pregnancy in the United States (US) was estimated to be between 1.4 and 2 billion dollars. 7 Successful interventions to reduce smoking during pregnancy have the potential to reduce health care costs and improve the health of mothers and their children.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations Between Residential Segregation and Smoking During Pregnancy Among Urban African-American Women

et al. 2007

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Approximately 10% of African-American women smoke during pregnancy compared to 16% of White women. While relatively low, the prevalence of smoking during pregnancy among African-American women exceeds the Healthy People 2010 goal of 1%. In the current study, we address gaps in extant research by focusing on associations between racial/ethnic residential segregation and smoking during pregnancy among urban African-American women. We linked measures of segregation to birth certificates and data from the 2000 census in a sample of US-born AfricanAmerican women (n=403,842) living in 216 large US Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). Logistic regression models with standard errors adjusted for multiple individual observations within MSAs were used to examine associations between segregation and smoking during pregnancy and to control for important sociodemographic confounders. In all models, a u-shaped relationship was observed. Both low segregation and high segregation were associated with higher odds of smoking during pregnancy when compared to moderate segregation. We speculate that low segregation reflects a contagion process, whereby salutary minority group norms are weakened by exposure to the more harmful behavioral norms of the majority population. High segregation may reflect structural attributes associated with smoking such as less stringent tobacco control policies, exposure to urban stressors, targeted marketing of tobacco products, or limited access to treatment for tobacco dependence. A better understanding of both deleterious and protective contextual influences on smoking during pregnancy could help to inform interventions designed to meet Healthy People 2010 target goals.

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Behavioral and Neural Consequences of Prenatal Exposure to Nicotine

Cited by 524 publications

References 94 publications

Prenatal Tobacco Exposure and Brain Morphology: A Prospective Study in Young Children

Prenatal Tobacco Exposure and Brain Morphology: A Prospective Study in Young Children

Maternal tobacco smoke increased visceral adiposity and serum corticosterone levels in adult male rat offspring

Associations Between Residential Segregation and Smoking During Pregnancy Among Urban African-American Women

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