Results from previous study waves
The previous assessment, when the participants were 16-22 years old, showed that adolescents born to mothers with substance abuse problems fared relatively well. However, there was significant variation within the group. On average, the prenatally substance-exposed adolescents performed lower than the control group on neuropsychological tests and had more psychosocial and mental health issues than the control group.
Furthermore, we found persistent differences in cortical features and lower volume of several brain structures compared to the control group. We know very little about the long-term consequences of prenatal exposure on neurocognitive and psychosocial development into adulthood, and this project will provide unique knowledge in this regard. Since these participants have been followed with regular assessments from birth through adolescence, it represents a unique dataset. The dropout rate in this longitudinal study with a high-risk group is unusually low.
Research questions and hypothesis
We aim to investigate whether prenatal exposure is associated with stable differences in brain, cognitive, and psychosocial function across age, or if such exposure is associated with different developmental trajectories.
1) One hypothesis is that the presence/absence of prenatal opioid and polysubstance exposure will predict cerebral markers of brain development, including morphometric and fiber tract characteristics identified through MRI analysis, which will be significant predictors and correlates of cognitive and behavioral function in adulthood. Our hypothesis is that we will observe similar effects on the brain at different ages, from early development through adolescence and into adulthood.
2) These relationships may be influenced by/associated with other variables beyond substance exposure itself, such as psychosocial factors (including parent-child relationships), and may also be mediated by variation in candidate genes. Various models will be set up and tested in structural equation modeling (SEM).
3) Central nervous system markers from previous MRI scans will be used to test whether it is possible to identify features that over time indicate risk for poorer development into adulthood. Cognitive and behavioral measures can also be used for this purpose. Which features in earlier cognitive, brain, and social development are most predictive of brain, cognitive, and psychosocial function in adulthood?
We hope that this can inform interventions and treatment in the future. While prenatal substance-exposed children as a group have an increased rate of difficulties, there is significant variation, and we hope that this project can contribute to understanding how this group fares in adulthood and identify markers that can help determine who may need additional early interventions.
Methods
In this study, we will utilize neuropsychological tests, interviews, questionnaires, and MRI scans to assess brain characteristics in prenatally drug-exposed adults compared to adults without such biomedical risk. Through MRI, including T1-weighted anatomical scans, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and scans sensitive to brain activity (BOLD fMRI), we aim to examine cortical and subcortical characteristics in relation to risk parameters and neuropsychological measures.
Publications
The status of the project
The participants from the previous waves will be recontacted from February 2024. The group we will investigate has now reached adulthood (they are approximately 26-32 years old).
Funding
The project has received funding from the World-leading Research Environment initiative of the University of Oslo.