Pregnant maternal brain dorsal anterior cingulate cortex choline/creatine ratios on 1H-MR spectroscopy in opioid exposure.

There is growing interest in understanding the effects of opioid use on the brain, yet the effects of opioid use on the pregnant maternal brain are still relatively unknown. Pregnant women with opioid exposure during pregnancy are at high risk for adverse neurological and neuropsychiatric outcomes. Much of what is currently known about the impact of opioids on the maternal brain is mainly derived from studies in animal models; however, species-specific opioid pathways and other socio-environmental factors complicate the interpretation of results.