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Intrauterine exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infection and early newborn brain development

Nickie Andescavage1,2,3, Yuan-Chiao Lu1, Yao Wu1

  • 1Developing Brain Institute, Children's National Hospital, 111 Michigan Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20010, United States.

Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|February 22, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Maternal COVID-19 infection during pregnancy may alter infant brain development, leading to increased gray matter volume and accelerated frontal lobe sulcal depth. Pandemic-related stressors may also impact early neurodevelopment.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Biology
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Prenatal viral exposures are linked to neurodevelopmental alterations.
  • Long-term effects of maternal COVID-19 on infant brain development are largely unknown.
  • The COVID-19 pandemic introduced novel maternal stressors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of maternal COVID-19 infection during pregnancy on early infant brain development.
  • To compare brain morphometry in infants born to mothers with and without COVID-19 exposure.
  • To assess the influence of pandemic-related stressors on neurodevelopment.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective observational cohort study of infants in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area (June 2020-November 2021).
  • Comparison of infants with maternal COVID-19 exposure (n=47) and unexposed mothers (n=55) to pre-pandemic controls (n=108).
  • Primary outcomes included cortical morphometry (volume, gyrification index, sulcal depth).

Main Results:

  • Infants of mothers with COVID-19 showed increased cortical gray matter volume (182.45 ± 4.81 vs. 167.29 ± 2.92).
  • Accelerated frontal lobe sulcal depth was observed in infants of COVID-19-positive mothers (5.01 ± 0.19 vs. 4.40 ± 0.13).
  • Differences were also noted in infants of COVID-19 unexposed mothers, indicating broader pandemic influences.

Conclusions:

  • Maternal COVID-19 infection during pregnancy is associated with specific alterations in infant brain structure.
  • Both direct viral exposure and indirect pandemic-related stressors may influence early neurodevelopment.
  • Further follow-up is warranted to understand the long-term implications of these findings.

Keywords:
COVID-19cerebral cortexintrauterine exposuresqMRI

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