The consequences of public health of the acquisition and use of drugs of ab
use have been well demonstrated. Despite intense however, progress has been
slow in recent years in ascertaining the specific neurodevelopmental effec
ts of these drugs on the children of drug-abusing mothers. The use of anima
l models allows the investigator to determine the specific biological contr
ibutions of prenatal exposure to drugs of abuse on neurodevelopmental outco
me while controlling for covariates that have confounded clinical studies,
such as altered nutrition in pregnancy, suboptimal rearing environment of t
he young, and availability of drug and nondrug stimulation to the offspring
. This article selectively reviews the preclinical literature on the gestat
ional effects of drugs of abuse with particular emphasis on cocaine, ethano
l, and the opiate narcotics, Mechanisms of drug action on the mature and de
veloping brain are summarized. A model of developmental impact on the brain
regions underlying drug-induced reward and reinforcement and its potential
postnatal importance is presented.