Effect of chronic cocaine on reproduction in female house mice.

The effect of chronic cocaine exposure on the reproductive success of juvenile female house mice was studied. We followed two generations of female mice to examine the consequence of cocaine treatment on developmental and reproductive parameters such as weight gain, first estrus, impregnation, fertility, and maternal success. Twenty-two-day-old female mice were given cocaine at a daily total of 40 mg/kg body weight, delivered by two SC injections of 20 mg/kg each, until they were mated and inseminated by experienced males. The treatment attenuated weight gain and delayed puberty in the females but had no discernible effect on their pups. Administration of cocaine to lactating mothers decreased the weaning weight of their pups. Juvenile females previously nursed by mothers receiving cocaine and receiving 40 mg/kg cocaine daily themselves were impregnated at older ages than controls. Nevertheless, once these juveniles reached puberty, they mated successfully and their reproductive parameters did not differ from those of control mice. Thus, chronic cocaine treatment of juvenile female mice slows body growth and development but has little effect on the offspring produced later when they reached adulthood.