Purpose: The main aim of this work was to analy- se the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in retinal and optic nerve development, and the con- sequences of methamphetamine «ice» (MA) or alcohol (EtOH) abuse during pregnancy on the developing visual system. Material and methods: Wistar rats were exposed to MA or EtOH during gestation and lactation and their offspring studied. Control isocaloric rats were maintained in parallel. The eyes and optic nerves from pups (at 7, 14 and 21 postnatal days) were pro- cessed using morphologic, morphometric and wes- tern blot approaches using antibodies against glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), myelin basic pro- tein (MBP) and neurofilament protein (NFP). Results: Statistically significant differences were observed between the methamphetamine-exposed and the alcohol-exposed rats, as compared to the controls. The optic nerve cross-sectional area was smaller in the drug or alcohol-exposed animals. The expression of developmental protein markers