The Placenta May Decide Autism Vulnerability

Summary: A new study in mice reveals that maternal immune activation during a precise gestational window triggers autism-like developmental disruptions exclusively in male fetuses. Researchers traced this vulnerability to damaged…

How Severe Illness During Pregnancy Alters Fetal Brain Development

Summary: Researchers have discovered that maternal immune activation during pregnancy alters the epigenome of fetal brain cells, disrupting deep-layer neurons and increasing the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders like autism. Key…

Genetics, Not Maternal Sickness, Drives Autism Risk

Summary: A large study analyzing over 1.1 million pregnancies found no strong evidence that maternal health conditions during pregnancy cause autism. Instead, nearly all previously reported associations between maternal diagnoses…