Research shows that viral infection during pregnancy affects maternal care behaviour

May 24, 2022

New Delhi, May 24 (ANI): As per new research by the Medical University of Vienna, viral infections during pregnancy affect the mother's brain and her aftercare behaviour. The findings of the research were published in the journal 'Molecular Psychiatry'. There is ample data from studies in mouse models demonstrating that viral infections during pregnancy can affect the developing brain of the young in utero (in the womb) with lifelong consequences for brain function and behaviour. A preclinical study has now shown, for the first time, that a viral-like immune activation during pregnancy also affects the maternal brain and significantly disrupts maternal care behaviour after birth. These results are published by a research group led by behavioural biologist Daniela D. Pollak from the Division of Neurophysiology and Pharmacology at MedUni Vienna's Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, working together with colleagues from the Division of Molecular Neurosciences at MedUni Vienna's Center for Brain Research and from Columbia University.