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Prenatal Nicotine Exposure Disrupts Infant Neural Markers of Orienting
- Source :
- Nicotine & Tobacco Research. 20:897-902
- Publication Year :
- 2017
- Publisher :
- Oxford University Press (OUP), 2017.
-
Abstract
- Introduction Prenatal nicotine exposure (PNE) from maternal cigarette smoking is linked to developmental deficits, including impaired auditory processing, language, generalized intelligence, attention, and sleep. Fetal brain undergoes massive growth, organization, and connectivity during gestation, making it particularly vulnerable to neurotoxic insult. Nicotine binds to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, which are extensively involved in growth, connectivity, and function of developing neural circuitry and neurotransmitter systems. Thus, PNE may have long-term impact on neurobehavioral development. The purpose of this study was to compare the auditory K-complex, an event-related potential reflective of auditory gating, sleep preservation and memory consolidation during sleep, in infants with and without PNE and to relate these neural correlates to neurobehavioral development. Methods We compared brain responses to an auditory paired-click paradigm in 3- to 5-month-old infants during Stage 2 sleep, when the K-complex is best observed. We measured component amplitude and delta activity during the K-complex. Results Infants with PNE demonstrated significantly smaller amplitude of the N550 component and reduced delta-band power within elicited K-complexes compared to nonexposed infants and also were less likely to orient with a head turn to a novel auditory stimulus (bell ring) when awake. Conclusions PNE may impair auditory sensory gating, which may contribute to disrupted sleep and to reduced auditory discrimination and learning, attention re-orienting, and/or arousal during wakefulness reported in other studies. Implications Links between PNE and reduced K-complex amplitude and delta power may represent altered cholinergic and GABAergic synaptic programming and possibly reflect early neural bases for PNE-linked disruptions in sleep quality and auditory processing. These may pose significant disadvantage for language acquisition, attention, and social interaction necessary for academic and social success.
- Subjects :
- Male
0301 basic medicine
Nicotine
Stimulus (physiology)
Cigarette Smoking
Arousal
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Pregnancy
Event-related potential
Orientation
medicine
Humans
Neural correlates of consciousness
Sensory gating
business.industry
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Brain
Infant
Electroencephalography
030104 developmental biology
medicine.anatomical_structure
Acoustic Stimulation
Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
Evoked Potentials, Auditory
Brief Reports
Female
Memory consolidation
Wakefulness
business
Auditory Physiology
Neuroscience
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 1469994X and 14622203
- Volume :
- 20
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Nicotine & Tobacco Research
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....6f9824de3c5e3f7e2684f14427539f94