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…

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…

Maternal Inflammation Linked to Child Behavioral Dysregulation

Summary: Maternal inflammation risk factors may be associated with dysregulation in children, encompassing attention, anxiety, depression, and aggression. Researchers observed that children born to mothers with prenatal infections, or who…