Prenatal Meth Exposure May Be Worse Than Alcohol

New research looks at the specific effects of meth exposure in utero.

The Study

Researchers at UCLA compared brain scans of three groups of children in order to determine the effects of prenatal exposure to methamphetamine: 21 children who had been exposed to meth and alcohol in the womb, 13 children exposed to only alcohol, and 27 children who were unexposed to neither meth nor alcohol.

Results of the scans showed that children exposed to meth had brain abnormalities similar to but sometimes more severe than those exposed to alcohol:

• The caudate nucleus--a brain structure important to learning, memory, motor control, and motivation--is smaller than normal in children exposed to alcohol, and smaller still in children exposed to meth.
• Other brain regions were larger than normal in children exposed to meth, such as the cingulate cortex--important in control and conflict resolution.

What Does This Mean?

Drug abuse among pregnant women is known to have effects on the fetus's developing brain, but not a lot is known about the specific effects of drugs other than alcohol. This study provides new and needed information on how meth affects the fetal brain. This knowledge can be used to help minimize brain damage before birth as well as recognize and treat cognitive and behavioral problems in children. Knowing what areas of the brain are likely to be damaged could be particularly useful in diagnosing children who don't have well-documented histories of drug exposure.