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Updated: Oct 25, 2026

Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
Published on: June 13, 2021
Mindfulness-based stress reduction during pregnancy is associated with changes in placental fatty acid metabolism and
J Lopez-Tello1, L Youssef2, R Bermejo-Poza3
1Department of Physiology, Development, and Neuroscience, The Loke Centre for Trophoblast Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Institute for Biomedical Research Sols-Morreale (IIBM, CSIC-UAM), Madrid, Spain; Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Introduction:
Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a promising non-pharmacological approach to improve mental health during pregnancy. This study examined whether maternal MBSR is associated with changes in placental metabolic and endocrine function.
Methods:
Placental samples were collected from participants in the IMPACT BCN randomized clinical trial, assigned to either MBSR or control care. Fatty acid composition was analysed by gas chromatography, gene expression by qPCR, and protein levels by Western blotting in placentas from male and female neonates.
Results:
MBSR altered placental fatty acid composition, increasing several fatty acids (C20:2, C20:3n6, C22:0, C22:1n9) and reducing C24:0. Expression of ALOX15, a lipid signaling regulator, was reduced in the MBSR group, while genes involved in lipid metabolism, inflammation, and glucocorticoid pathways were largely unchanged. MBSR also decreased expression of key endocrine and steroidogenic genes (CSH1/2, CYP11A1, CYP19A1, HSD3B1), predominantly in male placentas. Consistently, STAT3 protein levels were reduced in males, indicating a potential change in endocrine signaling in response to MBSR.
Discussion:
MBSR during pregnancy is associated with selective, sex-specific changes in placental lipid and endocrine pathways. These findings suggest that MBSR intervention influences placental function, potentially impacting fetal development.
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