In vitro cell model studies have shown that oxidative stress may affect beta-cell function. It is unknown whether oxidative stress may affect metabolic health in human fetuses/newborns. In a singleton pregnancy cohort (n = 248), we studied maternal (24-28 weeks gestation) and cord plasma biomarkers of oxidative stress [malondialdehyde (MDA), F2-isoprostanes] in relation to fetal metabolic healt...

OBJECTIVE In adults, one of the major determinants of leukocyte telomere length (LTL), a predictor of age-related diseases and mortality, is cumulative psychosocial stress exposure. More recently we reported that exposure to maternal psychosocial stress during intrauterine life is associated with LTL in young adulthood. The objective of the present study was to determine how early in life this ...

Previous studies have reported that maternal chronic stress or depression is linked to an increased risk of affective disorders in progeny. However, the impact of maternal chronic stress before pregnancy on the progeny of animal models is unknown. We investigated the behaviors and the neurobiology of 60-day-old male offspring of female rats subjected to 21 days of resident-intruder stress befor...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether a virtual reality workstation (Fetouch system) offering three-dimensional (3D) fetal visual and kinesthetic interaction may affect maternal stress. METHODS Maternal-fetal visual and kinesthetic interaction was obtained through a haptic interface based on 3D reconstruction of sequencial bi-dimensional ultrasound images of the fetus. Maternal stress was assessed be...

Perturbations in the prenatal and early life environment can contribute to the development of offspring stress dysregulation, a pervasive symptom in neuropsychiatric disease. Interestingly, the vertical transmission of maternal microbes to offspring and the subsequent bacterial colonization of the neonatal gut overlap with a critical period of brain development. Therefore, environmental factors...

The literature suggests an adverse impact of maternal stress related to interpersonal violence on parent-child interaction. The current study investigated associations between a mother's self-reported parent-child relationship dysfunction and what she does in response to her child's cues. It also examined whether maternal perception of parent-child dysfunctional interaction and child behavior w...

BACKGROUND This study aims to investigate the relationship between birthweight and psychological function, as evaluated by the results of a psychological conscript interview and assessment in young males, including an evaluation of stress susceptibility. METHODS We performed a retrospective cohort study based on linked birth registry data and data from an assessment of psychological function ...

In a previous study we demonstrated that repeated maternal separation impaired spatial memory performance in both male and female adolescent rats. The mechanisms of these cognitive alterations are unknown. In the present study, we examined the effects of repeated maternal separation on oxidative stress in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and striatum regions of the brain of the adolescent mal...