Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 29, 2025

Induction of Maternal Immune Activation in Mice at Mid-gestation Stage with Viral Mimic PolyI:C
Published on: March 25, 2016
Prenatal maternal immune activation predicts observed fearfulness in infancy
Jishyra Serrano1, Sean Womack2, Catherine Yount3
1University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.
None:
Fear reactivity is an early emerging temperament trait that predicts longer term behavioral and health outcomes. The current analysis tests the hypothesis, an extension of prior research on maternal immune activation (MIA), that the prenatal maternal immune system is a reliable predictor of observed fear reactivity in infancy. The analysis is based on a prospective longitudinal cohort study that collected data from the first trimester and conducted observational assessments of temperament at approximately 12 months of age (n = 281 infants). MIA was assessed from immune biomarkers measured in maternal blood at each trimester; infant temperament was assessed using the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery assessment at 12 months; covariates included family and sociodemographic factors. Patterns of inflammatory markers across gestation reliably predicted observed temperament: elevated prenatal MIA was associated with high fear reactivity to novel stimuli. The findings provide novel evidence of prenatal origins of fear reactivity and suggest developmental mechanisms that may underlie early emerging individual differences in child temperament. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
More Related Videos
09:09Generating a Reproducible Model of Mid-Gestational Maternal Immune Activation using PolyI:C to Study Susceptibility and Resilience in Offspring
Published on: August 17, 2022
08:50A Murine Model of Fetal Exposure to Maternal Inflammation to Study the Effects of Acute Chorioamnionitis on Newborn Intestinal Development
Published on: June 24, 2020
Related Concept Videos
Development of Immunocompetence
The initial cells that migrate from the fetal thymus settle within the skin and epithelial tissues lining the mouth, digestive tract, and in females, the uterus and vagina. These cells, including skin-based dendritic cells, serve as antigen-presenting cells, playing a key role in T cell activation.
Subsequent T...
Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
Attachment
Preparedness and Phobias
Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development