Impact of COVID-19 Related Maternal Stress on Fetal Brain Development: A Multimodal MRI Study
Background: Disruptions in perinatal care and support due to the COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented but significant stressor among pregnant women. Various neurostructural differences have been re-ported among fetuses and infants born during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic counterparts. The...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/11/22/6635 |
| _version_ | 1797464964819058688 |
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| author | Vidya Rajagopalan William T. Reynolds Jeremy Zepeda Jeraldine Lopez Skorn Ponrartana John Wood Rafael Ceschin Ashok Panigrahy |
| author_facet | Vidya Rajagopalan William T. Reynolds Jeremy Zepeda Jeraldine Lopez Skorn Ponrartana John Wood Rafael Ceschin Ashok Panigrahy |
| author_sort | Vidya Rajagopalan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Disruptions in perinatal care and support due to the COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented but significant stressor among pregnant women. Various neurostructural differences have been re-ported among fetuses and infants born during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic counterparts. The relationship between maternal stress due to pandemic related disruptions and fetal brain is yet unexamined. Methods: Pregnant participants with healthy pregnancies were prospectively recruited in 2020–2022 in the greater Los Angeles Area. Participants completed multiple self-report assessments for experiences of pandemic related disruptions, perceived stress, and coping behaviors and underwent fetal MRI. Maternal perceived stress exposures were correlated with quantitative multimodal MRI measures of fetal brain development using multivariate models. Results: Increased maternal perception of pandemic related stress positively correlated with normalized fetal brainstem volume (suggesting accelerated brainstem maturation). In contrast, increased maternal perception of pandemic related stress correlated with reduced global fetal brain temporal functional variance (suggesting reduced functional connectivity). Conclusions: We report alterations in fetal brainstem structure and global functional fetal brain activity associated with increased maternal stress due to pandemic related disruptions, suggesting altered fetal programming. Long term follow-up studies are required to better understand the sequalae of these early multi-modal brain disruptions among infants born during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:14:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6001d792e8184a938491591a2738797c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0383 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:14:40Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-6001d792e8184a938491591a2738797c2023-11-24T08:47:33ZengMDPI AGJournal of Clinical Medicine2077-03832022-11-011122663510.3390/jcm11226635Impact of COVID-19 Related Maternal Stress on Fetal Brain Development: A Multimodal MRI StudyVidya Rajagopalan0William T. Reynolds1Jeremy Zepeda2Jeraldine Lopez3Skorn Ponrartana4John Wood5Rafael Ceschin6Ashok Panigrahy7Department of Radiology, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Keck School of Medicine University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USADepartment of Biomedical Informatics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15206, USADepartment of Radiology, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USANeuropsychology Core, The Saban Research Institute, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USADepartment of Pediatric Radiology, Keck School of Medicine University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USADepartments of Radiology and Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Keck School of Medicine University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USADepartment of Radiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15206, USADepartment of Pediatric Radiology, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA 15224, USABackground: Disruptions in perinatal care and support due to the COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented but significant stressor among pregnant women. Various neurostructural differences have been re-ported among fetuses and infants born during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic counterparts. The relationship between maternal stress due to pandemic related disruptions and fetal brain is yet unexamined. Methods: Pregnant participants with healthy pregnancies were prospectively recruited in 2020–2022 in the greater Los Angeles Area. Participants completed multiple self-report assessments for experiences of pandemic related disruptions, perceived stress, and coping behaviors and underwent fetal MRI. Maternal perceived stress exposures were correlated with quantitative multimodal MRI measures of fetal brain development using multivariate models. Results: Increased maternal perception of pandemic related stress positively correlated with normalized fetal brainstem volume (suggesting accelerated brainstem maturation). In contrast, increased maternal perception of pandemic related stress correlated with reduced global fetal brain temporal functional variance (suggesting reduced functional connectivity). Conclusions: We report alterations in fetal brainstem structure and global functional fetal brain activity associated with increased maternal stress due to pandemic related disruptions, suggesting altered fetal programming. Long term follow-up studies are required to better understand the sequalae of these early multi-modal brain disruptions among infants born during the COVID-19 pandemic.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/11/22/6635fetal brain functionmaternal stressCOVID-19 pandemic |
| spellingShingle | Vidya Rajagopalan William T. Reynolds Jeremy Zepeda Jeraldine Lopez Skorn Ponrartana John Wood Rafael Ceschin Ashok Panigrahy Impact of COVID-19 Related Maternal Stress on Fetal Brain Development: A Multimodal MRI Study Journal of Clinical Medicine fetal brain function maternal stress COVID-19 pandemic |
| title | Impact of COVID-19 Related Maternal Stress on Fetal Brain Development: A Multimodal MRI Study |
| title_full | Impact of COVID-19 Related Maternal Stress on Fetal Brain Development: A Multimodal MRI Study |
| title_fullStr | Impact of COVID-19 Related Maternal Stress on Fetal Brain Development: A Multimodal MRI Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of COVID-19 Related Maternal Stress on Fetal Brain Development: A Multimodal MRI Study |
| title_short | Impact of COVID-19 Related Maternal Stress on Fetal Brain Development: A Multimodal MRI Study |
| title_sort | impact of covid 19 related maternal stress on fetal brain development a multimodal mri study |
| topic | fetal brain function maternal stress COVID-19 pandemic |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/11/22/6635 |
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