EFFECTS OF PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO COCAINE ON MORRIS WATER MAZE PERFORMANCE IN ADULT-RATS

The spatial memory of adult rats prenatally exposed to cocaine and tha t of control offspring was assessed using the Morris water maze. Offsp ring were derived from Sprague Dawley dams that received subcutaneous injection of 40 mg/kg/3 cc cocaine hydrochloride (C40) daily on gestat ional Days 8-20, pair-fed dams injected with saline, or nontreated con trol dams. After acquisition, the platform was moved to a new location (reversal phase). Probe trials were conducted at the end of acquisiti on and reversal training. On the Ist acquisition day, adult male and f emale offspring prenatally exposed to cocaine required significantly m ore time and traversed a greater distance to find the hidden platform than did control offspring. Despite these initial differences observed in C40 offspring performance, all of the rats were performing at equi valent levels at the time probe trials were conducted.