Do environmental stressors impact fetal brain development?
In a recent review article published in the journal Antioxidants, researchers explored how environmental factors impact the brain development of fetuses and neonates, emphasizing inflammation and oxidation stress as common denominators across various stressors.
Human brain development, starting in the second to third week of gestation and continuing through childhood, is influenced by genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors. Maternal environmental exposures during pregnancy affect intrauterine development and long-term offspring health, potentially increasing non-communicable disease risks in adulthood. These exposures can epigenetically alter placental and fetal phenotypes, impacting organ structure, metabolism, and physiology.
In the review, researchers aimed to explore the effects of various maternal environmental exposures, including nutrition, lifestyle, stress, and pollution, on fetal brain development and neonatal neurodevelopment-related outcomes, from a comprehensive literature search that encompassed human and animal studies published within the last 15 years.
The researchers found that pathological pregnancy conditions like fetal growth restriction (FGR) and preterm birth (PTB) are linked to neurodevelopmental issues in offspring. Mechanisms include altered nutrient supply and intrauterine inflammation.
Inflammation during pregnancy, worsened by factors like obesity and stress, affects synaptic plasticity, compromising fetal brain development. Additionally, chemical exposure can harm the blood-brain barrier, further impairing fetal brain development.
Following were the key findings of the study:
- Environmental insults can induce a maternal inflammatory state and modify nutrient supply to the fetus, possibly through epigenetic mechanisms, leading to significant consequences for brain morphogenesis and neurological outcomes. These risk factors are often synergic and mutually reinforcing.
- Fetal growth restriction and preterm birth represent paradigms of intrauterine reduced nutrient supply and inflammation, respectively.
- These mechanisms can lead to an increase in free radicals and, consequently, oxidative stress, with well-known adverse effects on the offspring’s neurodevelopment. Therefore, a healthy intrauterine environment is a critical factor in supporting normal fetal brain development.
These findings highlighted the critical role of healthy intrauterine environments for promoting fetal brain development and stress the importance of interventions that aim to reduce modifiable stress factors during pregnancy.
Reference: Impacts of maternal environment and inflammation on fetal neurodevelopment. Lubrano, C., Parisi, F., Cetin, I. Antioxidants (2024). DOI: 10.3390/antiox13040453, https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/13/4/453
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