Biomaterial Database

Postnatal development of cardiac and respiratory control following prenatal drug exposure. 1991

R M Harper

Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of California, Los Angeles 90024-1763.

Of primary importance in the consideration of animal models of prenatal drug exposure is the recognition of interdependence among physiologic systems, the pervading influence of sleep and waking states, and the potential interaction between drug-induced structural changes and physiologic function. It is difficult for a drug effect on the cardiovascular system not to modify respiratory pattern; any change in blood pressure, systemic perfusion, or heart rate is immediately reflected in breathing; respiratory pattern, in turn, through negative thoracic pressure and other sensory activity, can alter cardiac patterning. The respiratory system itself is one component of a somatic motor system, and neural motor control structures undergo substantial modification by drug action. Enhancing or diminishing any aspect of interaction is the influence of sleep states, which nonlinearly can alter relationships between physiologic systems, occasionally dissociating systems, as in the case of temperature effects on breathing during REM sleep. Finally, drug-induced structural changes that alter morphology of the upper airway can result in obstructive respiratory events, leading to pronounced cardiovascular sequelae.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D009043	Motor Activity	Body movements of a human or an animal as a behavioral phenomenon.	Activities, Motor,Activity, Motor,Motor Activities
D011247	Pregnancy	The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.	Gestation,Pregnancies
D011248	Pregnancy Complications	Conditions or pathological processes associated with pregnancy. They can occur during or after pregnancy, and range from minor discomforts to serious diseases that require medical interventions. They include diseases in pregnant females, and pregnancies in females with diseases.	Adverse Birth Outcomes,Complications, Pregnancy,Adverse Birth Outcome,Birth Outcome, Adverse,Complication, Pregnancy,Outcome, Adverse Birth,Pregnancy Complication
D012119	Respiration	The act of breathing with the LUNGS, consisting of INHALATION, or the taking into the lungs of the ambient air, and of EXHALATION, or the expelling of the modified air which contains more CARBON DIOXIDE than the air taken in (Blakiston's Gould Medical Dictionary, 4th ed.). This does not include tissue respiration (	Breathing
D002675	Child, Preschool	A child between the ages of 2 and 5.	Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D004569	Electroencephalography	Recording of electric currents developed in the brain by means of electrodes applied to the scalp, to the surface of the brain, or placed within the substance of the brain.	EEG,Electroencephalogram,Electroencephalograms
D005260	Female		Females
D005333	Fetus	The unborn young of a viviparous mammal, in the postembryonic period, after the major structures have been outlined. In humans, the unborn young from the end of the eighth week after CONCEPTION until BIRTH, as distinguished from the earlier EMBRYO, MAMMALIAN.	Fetal Structures,Fetal Tissue,Fetuses,Mummified Fetus,Retained Fetus,Fetal Structure,Fetal Tissues,Fetus, Mummified,Fetus, Retained,Structure, Fetal,Structures, Fetal,Tissue, Fetal,Tissues, Fetal
D006128	Growth	Gradual increase in the number, the size, and the complexity of cells of an individual. Growth generally results in increase in ORGAN WEIGHT; BODY WEIGHT; and BODY HEIGHT.