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Altered D2 receptor availability in adult rhesus monkeys exposed to cocaine in utero

Previous research has established an inverse relationship between dopamine (DA) D2 receptor availability and vulnerability to psychostimulant use (Volkow et al., 1999; Morgan et al., 2002; Nader et al., 2006). Exposure to cocaine in utero could increase predisposition to drug addiction in adulthood by permanently altering dopaminergic neurocircuitry. In fetal rhesus monkeys, prenatal cocaine exposure has been shown to increase D1 and D2 receptor densities within the striatum and substantia nigra (Fang et al., 1997), but little is known about the long‐term effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on the DA system. In the present study, positron emission tomography (PET) imaging was used to examine D2 receptor availability in adult male rhesus monkeys that had been exposed to cocaine throughout gestation (Morris et al., 1996). Compared to controls, the preliminary findings for 3 monkeys exposed to cocaine in utero suggest increased D2 receptor availability in the caudate (+8.7%) and the putamen (+13.3%) and decreased D2 receptor availability in the amygdala (−10.7%). No apparent changes in D2 receptor availability were detected within the anterior cingulate cortex. This is the first documentation of prenatal cocaine exposure altering the dopaminergic system in adult animals. Whether these neurochemical changes influence the behavioral vulnerability to self‐administer cocaine remains to be studied. DA 10584