Infections during pregnancy have a negative impact upon maternal care, can trigger depression in child
The researchers were able to demonstrate the following effects in the mouse model: 1.) stimulation of the immune system , comparable with a viral infection in the pregnant mother, results in diminished maternal behaviour towards her offspring after birth. 2.) this results in the tendency for offspring to develop depression and 3.) that daughters in their turn are less maternal towards their own offspring, even if they suffer no infection, so that the next generation is also more likely to develop depression. "We were therefore able to show that there is a transgenerational effect and that epigenetic changes occur in the brain," explains Daniela Pollak, who, together with her team, is generally concerned with identifying the neurobiological bases of psychiatric illnesses, particularly depression and anxiety disorders. Although epigenetic changes do not involve any change in the actual DNA sequence of the individual in question, changes due to external influences --...