Possible Interaction: Nicotine and Prenatal Vitamin

“Understanding the neurobiological changes in reward related circuitry induced by exposure to nicotine prenatally is vital if we are to combat the heightened addiction liability in these vulnerable individuals.”

“Impaired cardiac function during postnatal hypoxia in rats exposed to nicotine prenatally : implications for perinatal morbidity and mortality, and for sudden infant death syndrome.”

“Research using rodent models shows that gestational nicotine exposure produces enduring alterations in the neurodevelopment of motivational systems, and that rats prenatally treated with nicotine have altered motivation for drug reinforcement on fixed-ratio (FR) schedules of reinforcement.”

“When animals exposed to nicotine prenatally were then given nicotine in adolescence, the net outcome was worsened, largely representing summation of the two individual effects.”

“Prenatal exposure to nicotine significantly increases enkephalin mRNA levels in the rat adrenal medulla prenatally , and postnatally the normal up-regulation is obliterated.”

“Exposure to 108 μM of nicotine prenatally increased significantly the incidence of focal necrosis at birth, and the liver damage was still evident at 10 days of age even after the pups were allowed to suckle dams not exposed to any nicotine during the study period.”

“ Nicotine , the most important neuroteratogen of tobacco smoke, can reproduce brain and cognitive disturbances per se when administered prenatally.”