RTI uses cookies to offer you the best experience online. By clicking “accept” on this website, you opt in and you agree to the use of cookies. If you would like to know more about how RTI uses cookies and how to manage them please view our Privacy Policy here. You can “opt out” or change your mind by visiting: http://optout.aboutads.info/. Click “accept” to agree.
Porges, S., & Greenspan, SI. (1991). Regulatory disorders II: Psychophysiologic perspectives. In MM. Kilbey, & K. Asghar (Eds.), Methodological Issues in Controlled Studies on Effects of Prenatal Exposure to Drug Abuse. NIDA Research Monograph 114 (pp. 173-181). National Institute on Drug Abuse. http://archives.drugabuse.gov/pdf/monographs/114.pdf
Many infants exposed to drugs in utero have characteristics similar to a subset of non-drug-exposed infants who have difficulty regulating their behavior. These infants exhibit significant impairments in their ability to regulate internal homeostatic processes (e.g., sleep patterns, digestion, general arousal) and in organizing behavioral and physiological systems in response to environmental challenges. This chapter discusses the behavioral and physiological characteristics of the regulatory-disordered infant and how the construct of regulatory disorders might be useful in the study of infants exposed to drugs in utero.
The impact of prenatal drug exposure on the developing fetus and infant is difficult to evaluate. The inability to control variables, either through selection or manipulation, makes human research very different from animal studies and highlights the methodological problems. For example, with human research, it is not possible to control drug exposure or to remove all the confounding variables related to outcome.