A review of experiments involving drug treatment in newborn rodents found that compounds like Semax, piracetam, and caffeine produce effects in adult animals that differ — and sometimes are opposite — from the effects of the same drugs given to adults. These lasting influences appear to work by altering how the brain's chemical signaling systems develop during early postnatal life, with some treatments changing the actual number of neurons or the architecture of the brain. The findings highlight the importance of studying long-term developmental consequences of drug exposure in infancy.
Poletaeva, I I; Perepelkina, O V; Boiarshinova, O S; Lil'p, I G; Markina, N V; Timoshenko, T V; Revishchin, A V