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Prenatal programming of mental illness: current understanding of relationship and mechanisms

Deborah R Kim1, Tracy L Bale, C Neill Epperson

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Penn Center for Women's Behavioral Wellness, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA, drkim@mail.med.upenn.edu.

Current Psychiatry Reports
|January 25, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Maternal stress during pregnancy can lead to prenatal programming, affecting offspring

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD)
  • Neurodevelopmental and Psychiatric Disorders
  • Epigenetics and Environmental Influences

Background:

  • The concept of prenatal programming links early life conditions to later health outcomes, as pioneered by Dr. David J. Barker.
  • Adverse in utero environments can induce lasting changes in offspring through epigenetic mechanisms.
  • Prenatal programming is influenced by the timing, type, and sex of the fetus.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review recent evidence linking prenatal programming to psychiatric disorders.
  • To explore the role of maternal stress during pregnancy in offspring mental health.
  • To identify key biological pathways involved in prenatal programming of psychiatric risk.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current scientific literature on prenatal programming and psychiatric disorders.
  • Analysis of studies investigating maternal stress, epigenetic changes, and fetal development.
  • Examination of data on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function, glucocorticoids, and inflammation.

Main Results:

  • Prenatal exposure to maternal stress is implicated in the development of psychiatric disorders.
  • Epigenetic modifications at placental and fetal levels are key mechanisms.
  • Maternal HPA axis dysregulation, elevated glucocorticoids, and inflammation are critical factors.

Conclusions:

  • Prenatal programming via maternal stress represents a significant risk factor for offspring psychiatric disorders.
  • Epigenetic changes are crucial mediators of these long-term effects.
  • Further research is needed to elucidate these complex mechanisms and inform interventions.

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