Cocaine-induced disturbances of corticogenesis in the developing murine brain.

Exposure of fetuses to cocaine can induce behavioral disturbances and structural modifications of the CNS. Cocaine was injected into pregnant mice from the eighth day of gestation until term and the brains of their offspring were examined at the light and EM levels. Cocaine severely disturbs neocortical architecture, disrupting horizontal and vertical lamination, and inducing abnormal array of the axonal-dendritic bundles. Cocaine also alters several steps of gliogenesis. The severity of the malformations is variable, but evident in all exposed animals.