Increases, Reductions, or No Effect? The Puzzle of Neural Findings from Animal Models of Prenatal Cocaine Exposure

Abstract

In the past 10 years, behavioral neuroscience research has revealed that prenatal exposure to cocaine results in a specific constellation of cognitive impairments, primarily within the domains of selective attention, sustained attention, and emotional reactivity. In this time, numerous animal models have been developed in an attempt to understand the biological basis of these cognitive and affective changes. However, several inconsistencies in key methodologies and experimental procedures utilized by these models have hindered the formulation of conclusions from this animal data. In this commentary, these procedural differences are discussed, and numerous criteria are proposed for evaluating the validity of animal models of prenatal cocaine exposure.