Within a mother’s body, the placenta is both a barrier and a chemical
blockade behind which a fetus can safely develop into a whole and
healthy baby.
Yet, events that happen to the mother — such as a viral infection or psychological stress — can challenge and ultimately compromise the placental barrier and so impact the development of the fetus.
For instance, the brain development of a fetus occurs as a sequence of timed and orderly events; if, though, the sequence is disrupted or slowed by a chemical onslaught, neurons may be “born” or migrate at the wrong moment and cause the brain to be "wired" in an atypical way.
It comes as no surprise, then, that scientists from Cardiff University have discovered evidence that suggests adults who were deprived of certain nutrients while developing in the womb may be more likely to suffer from poor mental health.
"We achieved this by damaging a hormone called Insulin-like growth factor-2, important for controlling growth in the womb,” said Dr Trevor Humby, a behavioural neuroscientist in the Schools of Psychology and Medicine, in a statement.
“What we found when we did this was an imbalance in the supply of nutrients controlled by the placenta, and that this imbalance had major effects on how subjects were during adulthood – namely, that subject became more anxious later in life.”
The scientists plan further studies to investigate brain development, placental dysfunction, and the emotional state of adults.
"The growth of a baby is a very complex process and there are lots of control mechanisms which make sure that the nutrients required by the baby to grow can be supplied by the mother," said Humby.
This thought has been echoed by other researchers, particularly two scientists in Maryland who investigated prenatal stress and its possible link to psychotic and depressive illnesses in adults.
Yet, events that happen to the mother — such as a viral infection or psychological stress — can challenge and ultimately compromise the placental barrier and so impact the development of the fetus.
For instance, the brain development of a fetus occurs as a sequence of timed and orderly events; if, though, the sequence is disrupted or slowed by a chemical onslaught, neurons may be “born” or migrate at the wrong moment and cause the brain to be "wired" in an atypical way.
It comes as no surprise, then, that scientists from Cardiff University have discovered evidence that suggests adults who were deprived of certain nutrients while developing in the womb may be more likely to suffer from poor mental health.
Experiment
To explore how imbalanced nutrients during fetal development might later affect adults, the researchers disrupted the balance of nutrients passing to mice in the womb and then examined the later behavior of the mice when they became adults."We achieved this by damaging a hormone called Insulin-like growth factor-2, important for controlling growth in the womb,” said Dr Trevor Humby, a behavioural neuroscientist in the Schools of Psychology and Medicine, in a statement.
“What we found when we did this was an imbalance in the supply of nutrients controlled by the placenta, and that this imbalance had major effects on how subjects were during adulthood – namely, that subject became more anxious later in life.”
The scientists plan further studies to investigate brain development, placental dysfunction, and the emotional state of adults.
"The growth of a baby is a very complex process and there are lots of control mechanisms which make sure that the nutrients required by the baby to grow can be supplied by the mother," said Humby.
This thought has been echoed by other researchers, particularly two scientists in Maryland who investigated prenatal stress and its possible link to psychotic and depressive illnesses in adults.
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