Prenatal inflammation may increase anxiety risk in offspring: Study
A new study from Weill Cornell Medicine suggests that when pregnant mice experience inflammation, it can change their offspring's brain in ways that make them more likely to feel anxious later on.
These changes affect the hippocampus—the part of the brain that helps process threats—and could create a lasting sensitivity to anxiety.
How does prenatal stress affect the brain?
Using mice, scientists found that prenatal inflammation led to anxiety-like behaviors in the offspring.
The key? Changes in a specific part of the brain called the ventral dentate gyrus (vDG), where neurons became extra excitable because of tweaks in DNA methylation—basically, how genes get turned on or off.
Implications for human health
This study points toward a biological link between prenatal stress and anxiety risk, highlighting how early life experiences can shape mental health.
While these findings are from mice and focus on just one type of brain cell, they open up new questions about how similar processes might work in humans.
The findings underscore the importance of further research into the effects of prenatal environment on mental health.