Exposure of the fetus to drugs may affect the development of the brain in infants
New research shows that uterine exposure to maternal antiepileptics or antidepressants may affect the development of neonatal brain networks. The study developed new mathematical methods to enable future research into how commonly used drugs or other environmental conditions affect a newborn’s brain.
Pregnant mothers may need treatment because of their illness, such as mood disorder or epilepsy. The effects of drug treatment on the functions of the neonatal brain network were investigated in a study conducted at the BABA Center, a research unit of the University of Helsinki, and the New Children’s Hospital of HUS University Hospital. The study used electroencephalography (EEG) to measure the electrical activity of the brain during sleep, and the cortical network properties were calculated using advanced mathematical techniques.
“In previous studies, we have shown that changes in cortical activity in different sleep states can provide important information about the neurological state of infants,” says senior researcher Anton Tokariev.
The study showed that exposure to antiepileptics and antidepressants during the fetus results in widespread changes in cortical networks, and these effects may be specific to the types of drug exposure. In the case of antidepressants, the effect was more pronounced in local cortical networks. In contrast, exposure to antiepileptic drugs had drug-specific effects on extensive brain networks. Both types of drugs affected the brain networks that respond to changes in sleep stages.
“The findings were clinically significant in that some EEG findings were related to later neuropsychological development in children. Stronger changes in neural networks predicted a greater developmental abnormality at the age of two,” says Mari Videman, a pediatric neurologist at HUS University Hospital in Helsinki.
Brings new light to early brain development
Studies offer a whole new way to assess the effects of drugs on a child’s brain development.
“The EEG measurement technology developed at the BABA Center and the related state-of-the-art mathematical evaluation of brain neural networks are breakthroughs in clinical research into early nervous system development,” says Professor Sampsa Vanhatalo.
The old house considers it particularly important that these EEG-based measures open a window into the mechanisms between neurons. This makes it possible to compare the results observed in human children with the study performed in laboratory animal models. Such translational work is needed to understand the mechanistic basis of the effects of drugs. Similar animal work is needed, for example, to determine how the amount or timing of maternal drug treatment would affect the brain function of offspring.
“Our new methods provide a general analytical framework to support extensive future research into how changes in the intrauterine environment affect fetal brain development. Such studies can go much further than the mother’s drug treatment, including the mother’s nutrition and general physical condition, as well as countless other environmental factors, ”Vanhatalo concludes.