Growing evidence suggests that factors observed during pregnancy influence adult memory, and that this may happen via the disruption of maternal prenatal immune pathways. To understand more about how such factors may influence memory, researchers investigated how prenatal exposure to maternal proinflammatory cytokines affects brain circuitry that regulates offspring's memory and immune function.
For the study, they analyzed data from 204 adults who were either exposed or unexposed to an adverse in-utero maternal immune environment. The participants were followed until around 50 years of age.
Ultimately, fMRI results revealed a significant link between exposure to proinflammatory cytokines in the womb and sex differences in adverse brain activity in memory circuitry later in life. This was especially true for postmenopausal women, who also expressed higher proinflammatory markers at around 50 years old.
The researchers further found that prenatal exposure was significantly linked to age 7 academic achievement, which was also linked to age 50 memory performance. They additionally found that the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 alone was not significantly linked to memory circuitry in midlife.
The findings indicate that higher maternal prenatal immune activity may play a role in elevating immune and stress sensitivity in offspring. The researchers hypothesized that this might increase susceptibility to memory disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, later in life in sex-dependent ways.
"While prenatal immune activity may affect brain development in the offspring, that does not mean pregnancy is deterministic. Of course, subsequent environmental exposures are key, just as in utero environment is important," said corresponding author Jill M. Goldstein, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine at Harvard Medical School, in a press release.
"Fortunately, the brain is exceptionally adaptable, and we want to understand the cognitive, behavioral, and sex-dependent factors associated with both risk and resilience in order to intervene early and maintain intact memory function as we age," she added.
Sources: Neuroscience News, Molecular Psychiatry
