Substance use during pregnancy can have negative effects on infants, including congenital disabilities, delayed neurodevelopment, and long-term learning difficulties. In Canada alone, it is estimated that up to 5% of all infants are exposed to multiple substances, which amounts to around 15,000 births annually. Unfortunately, there is no known cure to prevent or treat these neurobiological impacts. Little is known about the long-term biological consequences of neonatal polydrug exposure. Zebrafish represent an exciting alternative to better understanding the biological impact of neonatal multidrug exposure. In this proposal, we take advantage of zebrafish’s scalability to expose embryos to some of the most consumed substances: nicotine, alcohol, opioids, and all the different possible combinations.
Our initial findings reveal that prenatal drug exposure in larvae leads to sleeping difficulties and increased stress levels in zebrafish. These outcomes are consistent with those observed in other animal models and humans. We also discovered that different drug combinations produce distinct behavioural effects, suggesting varying biological impacts. Our next step is to examine gene expression changes in the brains of exposed animals to identify genes affected by polydrug exposure. We will also investigate neuronal development in exposed larvae. Zebrafish represents a unique opportunity to quantify brain activity in animals previously treated with different drug combinations and reveal aberrant brain activity patterns. Taking advantage of the strengths of zebrafish, this research program will lead to the discovery of novel biological pathways implicated in the development of long-term adverse effects after neonatal polydrug exposure. Our methods will shed light on the affected biological mechanisms and he unique features of this model organism position it as a valuable tool in advancing our understanding of neonatal drug effects and promote the development of effective therapeutic strategies.
