The effects of prenatal cocaine exposure and genotype on the ultrasonic calls of infant mice

Estimates are that as many as 44,000 humans are exposed to cocaine in utero per year. In this study we examined the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on one aspect of the mother-infant relationship in mice, infant ultrasonic calls. We mated C57BL/10J female mice with males of three different inbred strains (producing pups of three different Fl genotypes). We injected those females, subcutaneously, with saline or 20 mg/kg of cocaine hydrochloride on days 7 - 17 of gestation. That dosage did not compromise mother or pup viability, weight, or gestation length. On postnatal days 2 - 4, we recorded and measured the calls of pups while they were separated from their nest and slightly chilled. The results indicate changes in the ultrasonic calls as a function of cocaine and genotype. Overall, cocaine reduced the number of calls and increased the beginning pitch of calls. Pups of one genotype, a C57BL/10J x SJL/J hybrid were unaffected by cocaine exposure. The effects of cocaine, though reliable, were small, explaining only 1 - 2% of the total sum of squares. The size of the effect is in part due to the differential effect of cocaine on different genotypes. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.