ArticleBrain imaging and behavior2023
Maternal anxiety during pregnancy is associated with weaker prefrontal functional connectivity in adult offspring.
Article in Brain imaging and behavior, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prenatal Exposure to Anxiolytics: A Critical Review on Brain Development and Neurobehavioral Manifestations in Offspring.Neurotoxicity research · 2026Review
- The long-term correlates of developmental stress on whole-brain functional connectivity during emotion regulation.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- Neurodevelopmental Pathways from Temperamental Fear to Anxiety.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2025Review
- Brain structural and functional outcomes in the offspring of women experiencing psychological distress during pregnancy.Molecular psychiatry · 2024Review
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
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Abstract
backgroundThe connectome, constituting a unique fingerprint of a person's brain, may be influenced by its prenatal environment, potentially affecting later-life resilience and mental health.
methodsWe conducted a prospective resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging study in 28-year-old offspring (N = 49) of mothers whose anxiety was monitored during pregnancy. Two offspring anxiety subgroups were defined: "High anxiety" (n = 13) group versus "low-to-medium anxiety" (n = 36) group, based on maternal self-reported state anxiety at 12-22 weeks of gestation. To predict resting-state functional connectivity of 32 by 32 ROIs, maternal state anxiety during pregnancy was included as a predictor in general linear models for both ROI-to-ROI and graph theoretical metrics. Sex, birth weight and postnatal anxiety were included as covariates.
resultsHigher maternal anxiety was associated with weaker functional connectivity of medial prefrontal cortex with left inferior frontal gyrus (t = 3.45, p
conclusionsWeaker (medial) prefrontal cortex functional connectivity in the high anxiety adult offspring group suggests a long-term negative impact of prenatal exposure to high maternal anxiety, extending into adulthood. To prevent mental health problems at population level, universal primary prevention strategies should aim at lowering maternal anxiety during pregnancy.
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