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Abstract #2161

Test and Retest of the Emotional Responses in Adolescents Prenatally Exposed to Cocaine

Zhihao Li1, Priya Santhanam1, Claire D. Coles2, Mary Ellen Lynch2, Stephan Hamann3, Xiaoping Hu1

1Biomedical Engineering, Emory Univ. & Georgia Tech., Atlanta, GA, United States; 2Psychiatry and behavioral Science, Emory Univ., Atlanta, GA, United States; 3Psychology, Emory Univ., Atlanta, GA, United States


The present fMRI study examined the interaction effect of prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) and development on brain activations associated with emotional arousal, in adolescents. Comparing age 17 to 15, cortical responses elicited by negative emotional stimuli are reduced in the controls but remain roughly the same in the PCE adolescents. The present results suggest a long-term and stable PCE effect on emotional arousal regulation.