Antenatal Opioid Exposure and Cerebral Cortical Maturation in Newborns

Does cerebral cortical folding differ in newborns who are exposed to opioids antenatally compared with those who are nonexposed?In this cohort study of 259 newborns in the US, those exposed to opioids antenatally demonstrated significantly reduced cortical sulcal depth in the frontal, parietal, and global surfaces, as well as decreased cortical surface area across frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital, and global regions Compared with controls, newborns exposed to methadone showed greater surface area reductions than those exposed to buprenorphine; newborns with polysubstance exposure showed greater decreases in sulcal depth and surface area than those exposed only to opioids.These findings suggest that antenatal opioid exposure in newborns is associated with altered neonatal cortical folding, with the extent varying by type of opioid and presence of coexposures.

Corresponding Author: Catherine Limperopoulos, PhD, Developing Brain Institute, Children’s National Hospital, 111 Michigan Ave NW, Washington, DC 20010 (climpero@childrensnational.org).

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