classical-short-delay-eyeblink-conditioning-in-one-year-old-children

Classical Short-Delay Eyeblink Conditioning in One-Year-Old Children

Classical eyeblink conditioning (EBC) refers to the learned association between a conditioned stimulus (an auditory tone) and an unconditioned stimulus (a ...

The University of Auckland

To evaluate the effect of daily maternal methadone maintenance treatment on the quality and quantity of fetal movement.

The effect of methadone treatment on the quantity and quality of human fetal movement.

Maternal methamphetamine use during pregnancy and child outcome: what do we know?

In recent decades there has been an increase in the methadone dosages prescribed for opioid dependent women during pregnancy. Using prospective longitudinal data from a cohort of 32 methadone exposed and 42 non-methadone exposed infants, this study examined the relationship between maternal methadone dose during pregnancy and a range of infant clinical outcomes. Of particular interest was the extent to which any observed associations might reflect the direct causal effects of maternal methadone dose and/or the confounding effects of adverse maternal lifestyle factors correlated with methadone use during pregnancy. Findings revealed the presence of clear linear relationships between the mean methadone dose prescribed for mothers during pregnancy and a range of adverse infant clinical outcomes. With increasing maternal methadone dose there was a corresponding increase in infants' risk of being born preterm, being symmetrically smaller, spending longer periods in hospital and the need for treatment for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. After due allowance for potentially confounding maternal health and lifestyle factors, maternal methadone dose during pregnancy remained a significant predictor of preterm birth, growth, and the duration of infant hospitalization post delivery. These findings suggest a need to examine more closely the potential impacts of recent trends towards the use of higher methadone dose levels during pregnancy.

Maternal methadone dose during pregnancy and infant clinical outcome.

Methamphetamine (MA) abuse is a worldwide problem. Little is known about the co-morbidity of substance use disorders (SUD) and other psychiatric disorders of mothers who use MA prenatally. The Infant Development, Environment and Lifestyle (IDEAL) Study is a prospective, investigation of prenatal MA use and child outcome in the United States (US) and New Zealand (NZ). This study examined prenatal MA use and the co-morbidity of SUD and psychiatric disorders at 1-month postpartum.

Co-morbidity of substance use disorder and psychopathology in women who use methamphetamine during pregnancy in the US and New Zealand.

Methadone has been used as a pharmacotherapy for the treatment of opiate dependence since the mid-1960s. Many studies examining the benefits of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) for opiate dependence have documented a significant reduction in both criminal behavior and the use of other opiates. Nevertheless, emerging evidence suggests that MMT may impair cognitive function. However, it is unclear as to the part methadone dose, duration of MMT or plasma level may play in any observed deficits. Given the large number of people enrolled in MMT world-wide and the potential for deficits in cognitive function, a systematic review of the research investigating the association between MMT and cognitive function seemed warranted. The following databases were searched with a combination of free-text and thesaurus terms (methadone AND cognition): MEDLINE In-Process, EMBASE, PsycINFO and EBM Reviews-Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Seventy-eight articles were retrieved of which 35 met the inclusion criteria. The majority of research suggests that MMT is associated with impaired cognitive function and that deficits extended across a range of domains. However, caution is required when interpreting these results due to the methodological limitations associated with many studies. Further research that includes a combination of psychological and physiological measures within well-controlled group comparison studies is required to more accurately assess which cognitive domains are affected. 

Methadone maintenance treatment and cognitive function: a systematic review.

We agree with O'Grady et al. (2013) that the relationships between maternal methadone dose during pregnancy and neonatal outcomes deserve serious attention. However, we would also argue that a broader range of infant health and neurobehavioral outcomes need to be considered, not only in the short but also the longer term. 

Maternal methadone dose during pregnancy and infant clinical outcome: response to O'Grady et al.

Despite the evidence that women world-wide are using methamphetamine (MA) during pregnancy little is known about the neurodevelopment of their children.

Prenatal methamphetamine exposure and neurodevelopmental outcomes in children from 1 to 3 years.

Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) has been used to treat opiate dependence since the mid-1960s. Previous studies have investigated the effects of methadone on cognitive function however the findings have been inconsistent. Some report a complete absence of deficits while others report different types of cognitive impairment. Our research aimed to investigate the effects of MMT on cognitive function by comparing the performance of patients currently enrolled in MMT (n=32) with opiate-dependent subjects (n=17) and healthy control subjects (n=25) on a computerised neuropsychological test battery. Both the patients undertaking MMT and the opiate users showed less efficient interaction between visual searching and manually connecting digits and letters during the Switching of Attention Task than the healthy control subjects (F(2,64)=3.25, p=0.05), which indicates deficits in information processing. Nevertheless, the performance of the MMT group was similar to that of healthy control subjects in all other tasks, in contrast to the group of opiate users who performed poorly when compared to healthy control subjects during tests of attention (mean difference (MD)=2.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.9-4.7), p=0.001) and executive function (MD=5.9, 95% CI (1.3-10.5), p=0.007). These findings suggest that cognitive function in patients undertaking MMT is improved compared to those dependent on illicit opiates. 

Neuropsychological performance of methadone-maintained opiate users.

Hypoglycemia is common during neonatal transition and may cause permanent neurological impairment, but optimal intervention thresholds are unknown.

Article	Year
The effect of methadone treatment on the quantity and quality of human fetal movement. Neurotoxicology and teratology\| PubMed ID: 15001211	2004
Maternal methamphetamine use during pregnancy and child outcome: what do we know? The New Zealand medical journal\| PubMed ID: 15570349	2004
Maternal methadone dose during pregnancy and infant clinical outcome. Neurotoxicology and teratology\| PubMed ID: 20102736	2010
Co-morbidity of substance use disorder and psychopathology in women who use methamphetamine during pregnancy in the US and New Zealand. Drug and alcohol dependence\| PubMed ID: 22789630	2012
Methadone maintenance treatment and cognitive function: a systematic review. Current drug abuse reviews\| PubMed ID: 23773088	2013
Maternal methadone dose during pregnancy and infant clinical outcome: response to O'Grady et al. Neurotoxicology and teratology\| PubMed ID: 24099622	2013
Prenatal methamphetamine exposure and neurodevelopmental outcomes in children from 1 to 3 years. Neurotoxicology and teratology\| PubMed ID: 24566524	2014
Neuropsychological performance of methadone-maintained opiate users. Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)\| PubMed ID: 24920133	2014
Association of Neonatal Glycemia With Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at 4.5 Years. JAMA pediatrics\| PubMed ID: 28783802	2017

Trecia A. Wouldes

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