# Long term impact of maternal opioid use and management strategies on neurodevelopment in rodent offspring

> **NIH DA U01** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2026 · $733,457

## Abstract

Project Summary
The overall goal of this project is to evaluate the long-term impact of in utero oxycodone exposure, opioid
maintenance therapy and opioid-withdrawal mitigation strategies on neuro-behavioral development, brain
structure and volume and reward processing. Clinical studies have shown concerning long-term,
neurodevelopmental outcomes associated with in utero opioid exposure, which include lower social competence
scores, memory deficits, and increased risk for behavioral problems and hyperactivity disorders. Clinical data is
limited due to a number of challenges, including quality of maternal-infant bonding and care, maternal poly-
substance use, epigenetic influences, and socio-economic factors. Given these limitations there is a unique
opportunity for mammalian experimental models to investigate the long term effects of in utero opioid exposure,
maintenance replacement therapy, as well as opioid withdrawal mitigation treatments on neurobehavioral
outcomes. In the first aim we will evaluate the impact of opioid maintenance therapies (methadone and
buprenorphine) on offspring, following in utero exposure to oxycodone in dams extending from conception to
parturition or through pup weaning. We will also characterize the long-term behavioral impact of clinically-
approved opioid withdrawal mitigation treatments, methadone and morphine, as well as buprenorphine in pups,
following in utero exposure to oxycodone. In the second aim we will look to correlate changes in brain structure
and volume using magnetic resonance imaging in pups following the opioid maintenance therapy in the dams
as well as opioid withdrawal mitigation strategies in the pups. In the final aim we will examine whether prenatal
opioid exposure and opioid maintenance or withdrawal mitigation strategies disrupt reward processing at the
circuit level by examining GABAergic projections from the ventral tegmental area to the nucleus accumbens shell
that we have previously shown to modulate rewar

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11236296
- **Project number:** 1U01DA064170-01
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Ream  Al-Hasani
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** DA
- **Fiscal year:** 2026
- **Award amount:** $733,457
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2026-05-01T00:00:00 → 2031-02-28T00:00:00

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11236296

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11236296, Long term impact of maternal opioid use and management strategies on neurodevelopment in rodent offspring (1U01DA064170-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11236296. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*