Due to research still being in its early stages pertaining to the long-term developmental

effects of neonatal abstinence syndrome, research for language development had to be more so

directed at teratogen exposure, in particular, cocaine exposure in utero. The major difference

being evident in the fact that neonatal abstinence syndrome is characterized by withdrawals and

the only research available deals with exposure alone. Although more research is available with a

focus on prenatal cocaine exposure and future language deficits, studies have found mixed

results. Studies have looked to see the effects of cocaine exposure on the monoaminergic

neurotransmitter systems with emphasis on dopamine levels. According to Bandstra, Morrow,

Accornero, Mansoor, Xue, and Anthony (2011), “The effect of prenatal cocaine exposure(PCE)

on the arousal and attention regulating systems of the brain may be associated with poorer

auditory discrimination, language-based attention processing, and memory” (p. 25). In order to

truly understand the effects of gestational cocaine exposure, research must be conducted and

analyzed.

In continuation, links have been drawn to prenatal cocaine exposure and language

deficits. As pointed out by Bandstara et al. (2011) they found that infants exposed to higher

doses of cocaine compared to lighter doses or non-exposure, presented with lower auditory

comprehension and lower total language scores on the Preschool Language Scale-3 (p. 25-26).

Although, there has not been consensus concerning this research. Betancourt, Yang, Brodsky,

Gallagher, Malmud, Gianeetta, Farah, and Hurt (2011) contributed that, “Our group found no

gestational cocaine exposure (GCE) effects on language functioning assessed using the

Preschool Language scale at age 2.5 years and the Battelle Developmental Inventory

Communication Subscale at ages 3 and 5 years” (p. 2). Much of the research that has been

conducted has been primarily interested on the deficits observed in infant, preschool, and early
school aged children without observing the more long-term effects of pre-adolescents and

adolescent children.

To elaborate, Bandstra et al. (2011) pointed out, “Only a few studies, including our own,

have evaluated language abilities in school-aged or preadolescent children” (p.26). In their study,

The Miami Prenatal Cocaine study, they looked to determine the effect of cocaine exposure in

utero on language development in children 3, 5, and 12. Included in the sample were a total of

451 children in which 242 were cocaine exposed and 209 who were not exposed in utero. Of

particular interest were areas of expressive, receptive, and total language measures where

measures evaluated word structure, ability to formulate sentences, ability to recall sentences,

sentence assembly, word association, semantic relationships, and ability to listen and discern

paragraphs (Bandstra et al., 2011, p. 27). Results of the Bandstra et. al (2011) study indicated

that for receptive, expressive, and total language, “…analyses did not indicate a deficit in the

developmental trajectory of receptive language over time” and later went on to conclude, “…the

observed PCE-related difference between prenatally cocaine exposed and non-cocaine exposed

children in language function from early childhood into early adolescence is approximately 3

standard units in total and expressive language scores” (p.32-35). This identifies that with

expressive and total language measures, there has been observed developmental delays in

language for 3, 5, and 12 year old children compared to their non-exposed peers. Another study

was conducted by Betancourt et al. in which a similar population of urban, African-American

women of low SES and their children were observed. The sample included 120 participants, of

which, 60 were exposed to cocaine in utero and 60 who were not. The children were then

observed at 12, 14.5, and 17 years of age. The study looked to observe measures in inhibitory

control, working memory, receptive language, and incidental memory. According to the study
conducted by Betancourt et al. (2011) pertaining to inhibitory control, working memory, and

receptive language tasks, “The targeted study design revealed little evidence of latent effects of

GCE in this sample of low SES adolescents” (p. 9). Although the studies did not find repeating

results for their research, both of the studies mentioned in this section state subtle deficits

attributed to prenatal cocaine exposure have potential for negative outcomes in the future,

according to Bandstra et al. (2011), “Research suggests that there is strong continuity between

early language delay in children and later reading and literacy difficulties” (p. 31). Betancourt et

al. (2011) backed this view as well, making the statement, “There is accumulating evidence for

the existence of subtle effects of GCE and their impact on the individual and society may be

significant” (p. 11).

 References

Bandstra, E. S., Morrow, C. E., Accornero, V. H., Mansoor, E., Xue, L., & Anthony, J. C.

(2011). Estimated effects of in utero cocaine exposure on language development through

early adolescence. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 33 (1). Retrieved from

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0892036210001406

Betancourt, L. M., Yang, W., Brodsky, N. L., Gallagher, P. R., Malmud, E. K., Gianetta, J. M.,

Farah, M. J., & Hurt, H. (2011). Adolescents with and without gestational cocaine

exposure: longitudinal analysis of inhibitory control, memory and receptive language.

NIH Public Access, 33 (1). Retrieved from

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0892036210001613