A study from the Slovak Academy of Sciences has found that maternal infections during pregnancy can impair brain function in offspring. Published in Brain Medicine, the research focuses on how maternal immune activation (MIA) affects hippocampal neurons in newborn rats. The study reveals that prenatal inflammation reduces neuronal excitability, which could contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders like autism, schizophrenia, and depression in children of infected mothers.
“Maternal infections are a known risk factor for these disorders,” said Dr. Eliyahu Dremencov, the study’s lead author. “Our findings suggest that changes in hippocampal neuron function during early life may link prenatal inflammation to these conditions.”
The researchers induced MIA in pregnant rats using lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a bacterial component, and examined the neurons of their newborns. The results showed that neurons from MIA-exposed offspring had higher activation thresholds, slower response times, and reduced firing rates, indicating disrupted brain function.
The study also found that male offspring were more affected, which could explain why neurodevelopmental disorders are more common in males. “These findings may help explain why conditions like autism are more prevalent in males,” said Dr. Lucia Moravcikova, co-author of the study.
The research suggests that prenatal immune challenges may disrupt early brain development, leading to cognitive and behavioral issues later in life. The team is now exploring potential interventions, such as anti-inflammatory treatments during pregnancy or early-life therapies like transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to mitigate these effects. Further studies are needed to understand how these findings may apply to human development.
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