ReviewJournal of neuroscience research2021
The placenta-brain-axis.
Review in Journal of neuroscience research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 137 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
137 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 256 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prenatal psychological distress and neurodevelopmental trajectories in the first 3 years: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Prenatal social support in low-risk pregnancy shapes placental epigenome.BMC medicine · 2023Trial
- Article
- Diminished Maternal Tryptophan Leads to Sexually Dimorphic Differences in the Placenta-Brain Axis.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Placental DNA methylation captures shared and trait-specific genetic susceptibility across complex health conditions.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Placental histopathology and early childhood neurodevelopment in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes cohort.American journal of obstetrics and gynecology · 2026Article
- Article
- Review
- Placental mitochondrial DNA mutation-related oxidative stress underlies subsequent risk of adverse prognosis in sFGR twins.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- In Vivo 4D Oxy-Wavelet MRI as a Non-Invasive Biomarker of Brain Mitochondrial Function across the Lifespan.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Susceptibility of the Placenta and Fetal Brain to Maternal Probiotic Supplementation.Microorganisms · 2026Article
- Maternal childhood adversity as an upstream vulnerability for prenatal alcohol use and maternal mental health.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2026Article
- Newborn metabolomic perturbations associated with prenatal tobacco smoke exposure and early birth.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- Placental Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 Insufficiency Drives Neurodevelopmental Disorder-Relevant Behavioral Changes with Sex-Specific Vulnerabilities.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Comparative Analysis of Prenatal Stress Models: Placental and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Mice.The Yale journal of biology and medicine · 2026Article
- Placental iron transport under maternal stress: a missing link in foetal programming and mental health.EBioMedicine · 2026Article
- Placental Protein Release and Uptake From the Fetal Circulation in Healthy Term Pregnancies-A Human In Vivo Exploratory Study.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2026Article
- Convergence and divergence of genes informed by common and rare variants of autism spectrum disorders in tissue-specific pathways and gene networks.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- Maternal Poly (I:C)-Induced Placental Inflammation and Endocrine Dysfunction Are Associated with Disrupted Corticogenesis in Mouse Offspring.Brain sciences · 2026Article
77 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
All mammalian species depend on the placenta, a transient organ, for exchange of gases, nutrients, and waste between the mother and conceptus. Besides serving as a conduit for such exchanges, the placenta produces hormones and other factors that influence maternal physiology and fetal development. To meet all of these adaptations, the placenta has evolved to become the most structurally diverse organ within all mammalian taxa. However, commonalities exist as to how placental responses promote survival against in utero threats and can alter the trajectory of fetal development, in particular the brain. Increasing evidence suggests that reactions of the placenta to various in utero stressors may lead to long-standing health outcomes, otherwise considered developmental origin of health and disease effects. Besides transferring nutrients and gases, the placenta produces neurotransmitters, including serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine/epinephrine, that may circulate and influence brain development. Neurobehavioral disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders, likely trace their origins back to placental disturbances. This intimate relationship between the placenta and brain has led to coinage of the term, the placenta-brain-axis. This axis will be the focus herein, including how conceptus sex might influence it, and technologies employed to parse out the effects of placental-specific transcript expression changes on later neurobehavioral disorders. Ultimately, the placenta might provide a historical record of in utero threats the fetus confronted and a roadmap to understand how placenta responses to such encounters impacts the placental-brain-axis. Improved early diagnostic and preventative approaches may thereby be designed to mitigate such placental disruptions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.