Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
Nicotine Tob Res. 2022 Jul 13;24(8):1150-1160. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntac018.
Although there has been a decrease in the prevalence of tobacco smoking, exposure to nicotine during pregnancy remains a substantial problem worldwide. Further, given the recent escalation in e-cigarette use and legalization of cannabis, it has become essential to understand the effects of nicotine and cannabinoid co-exposure during early developmental stages.
We systematically examined the effects of nicotine and/or THC prenatal exposure on cognitive behaviors in male and female offspring. Dams were exposed to nicotine vape or vehicle, and oral edible THC or vehicle, throughout pregnancy. Adolescent offspring were then tested in the prepulse inhibition test, novel object recognition task, and novelty suppressed feeding task.
At birth, pups from mothers exposed to nicotine vape or oral THC exhibited reduced body weight, compared to control pups. Prenatal nicotine vape exposure resulted in a decreased baseline startle reactivity in adolescent male and female rats, and in females, enhanced sensorimotor gating in the prepulse inhibition test. Prenatal nicotine and THC co-exposure resulted in significant deficits in the prepulse inhibition test in males. Deficits in short-term memory were also found in males prenatally exposed to THC, either alone or with nicotine co-exposure, and in females exposed to THC alone. Finally, in males, a modest increase in anxiety-associated behaviors was found with THC or nicotine exposure in the latency to approach a novel palatable food.
These studies demonstrate differential effects of prenatal exposure to e-cigarette nicotine vape and/or edible THC on cognitive function, with differing effects within male and female groups.
These studies demonstrate an impact of nicotine, THC, or co-exposure during early developmental stages in utero on behavioral outcomes in adolescence. These findings have important translational implications given the continued use of nicotine and THC containing products by pregnant women worldwide, which can be applied to support healthcare and policy efforts restricting nicotine and THC use during pregnancy.
尽管吸烟的流行率有所下降，但孕妇接触尼古丁仍然是一个全球性的重大问题。此外，鉴于电子烟使用的最近升级和大麻合法化，了解尼古丁和大麻素在早期发育阶段的共同暴露的影响变得至关重要。
我们系统地检查了产前尼古丁和/或 THC 暴露对雄性和雌性后代认知行为的影响。在整个怀孕期间，母鼠接触尼古丁蒸气或载体，以及口服可食用的 THC 或载体。然后，青少年后代在预脉冲抑制测试、新物体识别任务和新颖性抑制喂养任务中进行测试。
出生时，与对照幼鼠相比，来自暴露于尼古丁蒸气或口服 THC 的母鼠的幼鼠体重减轻。产前尼古丁蒸气暴露导致青春期雄性和雌性大鼠的基础惊跳反应降低，并且在雌性中，在预脉冲抑制测试中增强了感觉运动门控。产前尼古丁和 THC 共暴露导致雄性的预脉冲抑制测试中出现显著缺陷。单独或与尼古丁共暴露产前暴露于 THC 的雄性也发现短期记忆缺陷，并且单独暴露于 THC 的雌性也发现短期记忆缺陷。最后，在雄性中，发现与 THC 或尼古丁暴露相关的焦虑相关行为在接近新的美味食物时的潜伏期略有增加。
这些研究表明，产前暴露于电子烟尼古丁蒸气和/或可食用的 THC 对认知功能有不同的影响，在雄性和雌性群体中具有不同的影响。
这些研究表明，在子宫内早期发育阶段尼古丁、THC 或共同暴露对青春期行为结果有影响。鉴于全世界孕妇继续使用含尼古丁和 THC 的产品，这些发现具有重要的转化意义，可用于支持限制孕妇使用尼古丁和 THC 的医疗保健和政策努力。
