Hepper P G
School of Psychology, Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
Neurotoxicology. 1995 Spring;16(1):139-43.
This paper reports a series of ultrasound observations on a human fetus from 21 weeks of gestational age at two weekly intervals to term. The mother, until 18 weeks of gestational age, was a user of cocaine but after this age used cocaine only once at 31 weeks gestation. The behaviour of this fetus was compared to a group of 10 similar aged fetuses who were not exposed to cocaine. Exposure to cocaine resulted in prolonged periods of inactivity interspersed with periods of increased general activity and an increased number of startles. This was particularly evident immediately following exposure to cocaine but behaviour appeared to become more normal with time as the mother stopped using cocaine. The behavioural states of the cocaine exposed fetus were different from unexposed fetuses. Longer periods were spent in States 1F and 4F and less time in State 2F. Furthermore the incidence of periods where no states were observed was considerably higher. These observations demonstrate that maternal cocaine use disrupts the behaviour of the fetus indicating a direct effect on the CNS. The value of prenatal behavioural observations to assess the effects of neurotoxic agents is demonstrated.
本文报告了对一名从孕21周开始，每隔两周进行一次超声观察直至足月的人类胎儿的一系列观察结果。这位母亲在孕18周之前一直使用可卡因，但在此之后，仅在孕31周时使用过一次可卡因。将该胎儿的行为与一组10名年龄相仿、未接触过可卡因的胎儿进行了比较。接触可卡因导致长时间的不活动，其间穿插着一般活动增加的时期以及惊跳次数增加。这在接触可卡因后立即尤为明显，但随着母亲停止使用可卡因，行为似乎随着时间的推移变得更加正常。接触可卡因的胎儿的行为状态与未接触胎儿不同。在1F和4F状态下花费的时间更长，而在2F状态下花费的时间更少。此外，未观察到任何状态的时期的发生率要高得多。这些观察结果表明，母亲使用可卡因会扰乱胎儿的行为，表明对中枢神经系统有直接影响。证明了产前行为观察对评估神经毒性剂影响的价值。
