Effect of prenatal and postnatal cocaine exposure on somatostatin content and binding in frontoparietal cortex and hippocampus of developing rat pups

Abstract The effects of cocaine administration to pregnant and/or nursing rats on somatostatin (SS) concentration and receptors in offspring brains at birth and 15 days of age were studied. SS was measured by radioimmunoassay and SS receptors by radio receptor assay in frontoparietal cortex and hippocampus. In newborn and 15-day-old animals the exposure to cocaine produced an increase in SS concentration in the frontoparietal cortex and a decrease of this parameter in the hippocampus. Administration of cocaine only during lactation did not induce such changes. Exposure during pregnancy or nursing induced in 0- or 15-day-old offspring an increase in the total number of SS receptors and a decrease in the affinity constant only in the cortex.