Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-hgkh8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-29T08:09:56.633Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Impaired regulation of arousal in 3-month-old infants exposed prenatally to cocaine and other drugs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 March 2009

Linda C. Mayes*
Affiliation:
Yale Child Study Center
Marc H. Bornstein
Affiliation:
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Katarzyna Chawarska
Affiliation:
Yale Child Study Center
O. Maurice Haynes
Affiliation:
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Richard H. Granger
Affiliation:
Yale Child Study Center
*
Linda C. Mayes, M.D., Yale Child Study Center, 230 S. Frontage Road, New Haven, CT 06510.

Abstract

This study investigated relations between drug exposure, particularly cocaine, and infants' regulation of arousal in response to novelty. Sixty-three infants — 36 cocaine exposed and 27 non-cocaine exposed — participated at 3 months of age in a novel-repeat stimulus presentation procedure. Arousal was operationalized in terms of infant behavioral state, affective expressiveness, and attention to the stimulus. Infants were tested and infant behaviors were scored by experimenters blind to the drug exposure status of the infant. There were no differences between the two groups in baseline behavioral state or affective expression before the presentation of novel stimuli. Compared to the non-cocaine-exposed group, infants exposed prenatally to cocaine and other drugs were more likely to exhibit a crying state and to display negative affect on novel stimulus presentations. There were no group differences in the amount of looking toward the stimulus. Both groups showed less crying and negative affect when stimuli were presented a second time, but decrements were consistently greater for the cocaine-exposed group. These results obtained when group differences were controlled for sociodemographic and perinatal variables. Sources of differences in the regulation of arousal in cocaine-exposed and non-cocainc-exposed infants are discussed, and impairments in the regulation of arousal in cocaine-exposed infants are considered in a framework of predictive implications for children's social and cognitive development.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Akbari, H. M., & Azmitia, E. C. (1992). Increased tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the rat cortex following prenatal cocaine exposure. Developmental Brain Research, 66, 277281.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alessandri, S. M., Sullivan, M. W., Imaizumi, S., & Lewis, M. (1993). Learning and emotional responsivity in cocaine-exposed infants. Developmental Psychology, 29, 989997.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Als, H. (1978). Assessing an assessment: Conceptual considerations, methodological issues, and a perspective on the future of the Neonatal Brazelton Behavior Assessment Scale. In A. J. Sameroff (Ed.), Organization and stability: A commentary on the Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scale. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 43 (5–6, Serial No. 177).Google Scholar
Anday, E. K., Cohen, M. E., Kelley, N. E., & Leitner, D. S. (1989). Effect of in utero cocaine exposure on startle and its modification. Developmental Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 12, 137145.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ardila, A., Rosselli, M., & Strumwasser, S. (1991). Neuropsychological deficits in chronic cocaine abusers. International Journal of Neuroscience, 57, 7379.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bartko, J. J. (1966). The intraclass correlation coefficient as a measure of reliability. Psychological Reports, 19, 311.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beeghly, M., & Tronick, E. Z. (1994). Effects of prenatal exposure to cocaine in early infancy: Toxic effects on the process of mutual regulation. Infant Mental Health, 15, 158175.3.0.CO;2-7>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bornstein, M. H. (1991). Manual for observation and analysis of infant development and mother-infant interaction in the first four years of life. Child and Family Research, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD 20892–2030.Google Scholar
Bornstein, M. H. (1995). Parenting infants. In Bornstein, M. H. (Ed.), Handbook of parenting (Vol. 1, pp. 339). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Bornstein, M. H. & Lamb, M. E. (1992). Development in infancy: An introduction (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Bornstein, M. H. & Tamis-LeMonda, C. S. (1990). Activities and interactions of mothers and their firstborn infants in the first six months of life: Covariation, stability, continuity, correspondence, and prediction. Child Development, 61, 12061217.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bornstein, M. H., Mayes, L. C., & Tamis-LeMonda, C. S. (1995). Habituation, information processing, mental development, and the threat of cocaine exposure in infancy. In Hepper, P. G. & Kendal-Reed, M. (Eds.), Perinatal sensory development: Psychology and psychobiology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, in press.Google Scholar
Bornstein, M. H., Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Tal, J., Ludemann, P., Toda, S., Rahn, C. W., Pechcux, M. G., Azuma, H., & Vardi, D. (1992). Maternal responsiveness to infants in three societies: The United States, France, and Japan. Child Development. 63. 808821.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brazelton, T. B. (1973). Neonatal behavioral assessment scale. Clinics in Developmental Medicine, No. 50. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott.Google Scholar
Chasnoff, I. J., Griffith, D. R., Freier, C., & Murray, J. (1992). Cocaine/polydrug use in pregnancy: Two-year follow-up. Pediatrics, 89, 284289.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cicchetti, D., & Tucker, D. (1994). Development and self-regulatory structures of the mind. Development and Psychopathology, 6, 533549.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, C. R., Geffen, G. M., & Geffen, L. B. (1989). Catecholamines and the covert orientation of attention in humans. Neuropsychologia, 27, 131139.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dawson, G. (1994). Frontal electroencephalographic correlates of individual differences in emotion expression in infants: A brain systems perspective on emotion. In N. Fox (Ed.), The development of emotion regulation (pp. 135151). Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59(2–3, Serial No. 240).Google Scholar
Derryberry, D., & Rothbart, M. K. (1984). Emotion, attention, and temperament. In Izard, C. E., Kagan, J., & Zajone, R. B. (Eds.), Emotions, cognition, and behavior (pp. 132166). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Fox, N. A., & Fitzgerald, H. E. (1990). Autonomic function in infancy. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 36, 2751.Google Scholar
Fox, N. A. (1994). Dynamic cerebral processes underlying emotion regulation. In N. Fox (Ed.), The development of emotion regulation (pp. 152166). Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59(2–3. Serial No. 240).Google Scholar
Freier, K. (1994). In utero drug exposure and maternalinfant interaction: The complexities of the dyad and their environment. Infant Mental Health, 15, 176188.3.0.CO;2-8>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gable, S., & Isabella, R. A. (1992). Maternal contributions to infant regulation of arousal. Infant Behavior and Development, 15. 95107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garcia-Coll, C. T., Halpern, L. F., Vohr, B. R., Seifer, R., & Oh, W. (1992). Stability and correlates of change of early temperament in preterm and full-term infants. Infant Behavior and Development. 15. 137152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gardner, J. M., Karmel, D. Z., Magnano, C. L., Norton, K. I., & Brown, E. G. (1990). Neurobehavioral indicators of early brain insult in high-risk infants. Developmental Psychology, 26, 563575.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gardner, J. M., Karmel, B. Z., & Magnano, C. L. (1992). Arousal/visual preference interactions in high-risk neonates. Developmental Psychology, 28, 821830.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gawin, F. H., & Ellinwood, E. H. (1988). Cocaine and other stimulants. New England Journal of Medicine, 318, 11731182.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gekoski, M. J., Rovee-Collier, C. K., & Carulli-Rabinowitz, V. (1983). A longitudinal analysis of the inhibition of infant distress: The origins of social expectations? Infant Behavior and Development, 6, 339351.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Griffith, D. R., Azuma, S. D., & Chasnoff, I. J. (1994). Three-year outcome of children exposed prenatally to drugs. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 33, 2027.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hofer, M. A. (1994). Hidden regulators in attachment, separation, and loss. In N. Fox (Ed.), The development of emotion regulation (pp. 192207). Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59(2–3, Serial No. 240).Google Scholar
Jacobson, S., Jacobson, J. L., Sokol, R. J., Martier, S., & Ager, J. W. (1993). Prenatal alcohol exposure and infant information processing. Child Development, 64, 17061721.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Karmel, B. Z., Gardner, J. M., Zappulla, R. A., Magnano, C., & Brown, E. G. (1988). Brain-stem auditory evoked responses as indicators of early brain insult. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 71, 429442.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Karmel, B. Z., Gardner, J. M., & Magnano, C. L. (1991). Attention and arousal in infancy. In Weiss, M. J. & Zelazo, P. R. (Eds.), Newborn attention: Biological constraints and the influence of experience (pp. 339376). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
Kopp, C. B. (1982). Antecedents of self-regulation: A developmental perspective. Developmental Psychology, 18, 199214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kosten, T. R. (1990). Neurobiology of Abused Drugs: Opioids and Stimulants. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 178, 217227.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kuchuk, A., Vibbert, M., & Bornstein, M. H. (1986). The perception of smiling and its experiential correlates in 3-month-old infants. Child Development, 57, 10541061.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Littman, D., & Parmelee, A. (1978). Medical correlates of infant development. Pediatrics, 77, 209211.Google Scholar
Magnano, C., Gardner, J. M., & Karmel, B. Z. (1992). Differences in salivary Cortisol levels in cocaineexposed and noncocaine-exposcd NICU infants. Developmental Psychobiology, 25, 93103.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mayes, L. C. (1994). Neurobiology of prenatal cocaine exposure: Effect on developing monoamine systems. Infant Mental Health, 15, 134135.3.0.CO;2-3>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayes, L. C. (1995). Substance abuse and parenting. In Bornstein, M. H. (Ed.), The Handbook of parenting (pp. 101125). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Mayes, L. C., Bornstein, M. H., Chawarska, K., & Granger, R. H. (1995). Information-processing and developmental assessments in 3-month-old infants exposed prenatally to cocaine. Pediatrics. 95, 539545.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mayes, L. C., Granger, R. H., Frank, M. A., Schottenfeld, R., & Bornstein, M. (1993). Neurobehavioral profiles of infants exposed to cocaine prenatally. Pediatrics, 91, 778783.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mayes, L. C., Feldman, R., Bornstein, M. H., Haynes, O. M., Granger, R. H., & Schottenfeld, R. (1995). Interactions between cocaine-using mothers and their three and six-month-old infants. Unpublished manuscript, Yale Child Study Center.Google Scholar
Mayes, L. C., & Kessen, W. (1989). Maturational changes in measures of habituation. Infant Behavior and Development, 12, 437450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mirochnick, M., Meyer, J., Cole, J., Herren, T., & Zuckerman, B. (1991). Circulating catecholamine concentrations in cocaine-exposed neonates: A pilot study. Pediatrics, 88, 481485.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Malley, S., Adamse, M., Heaton, R. K., & Gawin, F. H. (1992). Neuropsychological impairments in chronic cocaine abusers. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 18, 131144.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Papoušek, H., & Papoušek, M. (1984). Qualitative transitions in integrative processes during the first trimester of human postpartum life. In Prechtl, H. F. R. (Ed.), Community of mental functions from prenatalto postnatal life (pp. 230244). Philadelphia: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Porges, S. W., Doussard-Roosevelt, J. A., & Maiti, A. K. (1994). Vagal tone and the physiological regulation of emotion. In N. Fox (Ed.), The development of emotion regulation (pp. 167188). Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59(2–3, Serial No. 240).Google Scholar
Posner, M. I., & Dehaene, S. (1994). Attentional networks. Trends in Neuroscience, 17, 7579.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Posner, M. E., & Petersen, S. E. (1988). Structures and functions of selected attention. In Boll, T. & Bryant, B. (Eds.), Master lectures of clinical neuropsychology (pp. 173202). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Posner, M. I., & Petersen, S. E. (1990). The attention system of the human brain. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 13, 2542.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Prechtl, H. F. R. (1984). Continuity and change in early neural development. In Prechtl, H. F. R. (Ed.), Community of mental functions from prenatal to postnatal life (pp. 115). Philadelphia: Black-well.Google Scholar
Rothbart, M. K. (1986). Longitudinal observation of infant temperament. Developmental Psychology, 22, 356365.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rothbart, M. K., & Posner, M. I. (1985). Temperament and the development of self regulation. In Hartlage, H. & Telzrow, C. E. (Eds.), Neuropsychology of individual differences: A developmental perspective (pp. 93123). New York: Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rothbart, M. K., Ziaie, H., & O'Boyle, C. G. (1992). Self-regulation and emotion in infancy. In Eisenberg, N. & Fabes, R. A. (Eds.), Emotion and its regulation in early development. New Directions in Child Development, No. 55. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Sanson, A., & Rothbart, M. K. (1995). Child temperament and parenting. In Bornstein, M. H. (Ed.), The handbook of parenting (pp. 299321). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Stansbury, K., & Gunnar, M. R. (1994). Adrenocortical activity and emotion regulation. In N. Fox (Ed.), The development of emotion regulation (pp. 108134). Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59(2–3, Serial No. 240).Google Scholar
Struthers, J. M., & Hansen, R. L. (1992). Visual recognition memory in drug exposed infants. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 13, 108111.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Swann, A. C. (1990). Cocaine: Synaptic Effects and Adaptations. In Volkow, N. D. & Swann, A. C. (Eds.), Cocaine in the brain (pp. 5894). New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.Google Scholar
Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., & Bornstein, M. H. (1989). Habituation and maternal encouragement of attention in infancy as predictors of toddler language, play, and representational competence. Child Development, 60, 738751.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thompson, R. A. (1994). Emotion regulation: A theme in search of definition. In N. Fox (Ed.), The development of emotion regulation (pp. 2552). Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59(2–3, Serial No. 240).Google Scholar
Turner, S. M., Beidel, D. S., & Costello, A. (1987). Psychopathology in the offspring of children with anxiety disorders patients. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 229235.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weissman, M. M., Leckman, J. F., Merikangas, K. R., Gammon, G. D., & Prusoff, B. A. (1984). Depression and anxiety disorders in parents and children: Results from the Yale Family Study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 41, 845852.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed