Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34341569›Full record

ReviewNature reviews. Neurology2021

Maternal immune activation and neuroinflammation in human neurodevelopmental disorders.

Velda X Han, Shrujna Patel, Hannah F Jones, Russell C Dale

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Nature reviews. Neurology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 388 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
388citing papers in PubMed, 9 pooled it
60.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

388 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 608 citations in OpenAlex.

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  9. Valproate Exposure as anCNS & neurological disorders drug targets · 2025
    Pooled it
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  15. Converging etiopathogenetic pathways and early prevention opportunities for autism and neurodevelopmental disorders in the first 1000 days of life: a brief narrative review.Neuropsychiatrie : Klinik, Diagnostik, Therapie und Rehabilitation : Organ der Gesellschaft Osterreichischer Nervenarzte und Psychiater · 2026
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  20. Seasonal moderators of maternal CRP levels during pregnancy.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2026
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328 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 3 countries.

Velda X HanKids Neuroscience Centre, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4633-4316
Shrujna PatelKids Neuroscience Centre, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Hannah F JonesKids Neuroscience Centre, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Russell C DaleKids Neuroscience Centre, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. russell.dale@sydney.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2495-1826
The University of Sydney · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Maternal health during pregnancy plays a major role in shaping health and disease risks in the offspring. The maternal immune activation hypothesis proposes that inflammatory perturbations in utero can affect fetal neurodevelopment, and evidence from human epidemiological studies supports an association between maternal inflammation during pregnancy and offspring neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Diverse maternal inflammatory factors, including obesity, asthma, autoimmune disease, infection and psychosocial stress, are associated with an increased risk of NDDs in the offspring. In addition to inflammation, epigenetic factors are increasingly recognized to operate at the gene-environment interface during NDD pathogenesis. For example, integrated brain transcriptome and epigenetic analyses of individuals with NDDs demonstrate convergent dysregulated immune pathways. In this Review, we focus on the emerging human evidence for an association between maternal immune activation and childhood NDDs, including autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and Tourette syndrome. We refer to established pathophysiological concepts in animal models, including immune signalling across the placenta, epigenetic 'priming' of offspring microglia and postnatal immune-brain crosstalk. The increasing incidence of NDDs has created an urgent need to mitigate the risk and severity of these conditions through both preventive strategies in pregnancy and novel postnatal therapies targeting disease mechanisms.

Indexed as

Gene-Environment InteractionAnimalsFemaleHumansNeurodevelopmental DisordersNeuroimmunomodulationNeuroinflammatory DiseasesPregnancyPrenatal Exposure Delayed Effects

Identifiers

PMID34341569
OpenAlexW3187226810

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.