Somatostatin receptors increase in the olfactory bulb of developing pups after perinatal exposure to cocaine

Abstract The effects of chronic prenatal and/or postnatal exposure to cocaine on somatostatin concentration and receptors were studied in the olfactory bulbs of rat pups at birth and at 15 days old. Wistar rats were injected subcutaneously with single daily doses of 40 mg cocaine hydrochloride/kg from days 7 to 19 of gestation, from day 7 of gestation to day 15 postpartum or from parturation to day 15 postpartum. Fetal exposure to cocaine decreased SS concentrations in the olfactory bulb of the newborn pups while prenatal-plus-postnatal exposure increased this parameter. Administration of cocaine only during lactation did not induce any change. Exposure during gestation or during nursing induced an increase in the total number of somatostatin receptors and a decrease in the affinity constant in the olfactory bulb of newborn and 15-day-old pups. These results suggest that the development of somatostatin receptors in the olfactory bulb can be altered by prenatal and/or nursing period exposure to cocaine.