Fetal mechanisms in neurodevelopmental disorders.
Published
Journal Article (Review)
Normal development of the central nervous system depends on complex, dynamic mechanisms with multiple spatial and temporal components during gestation. Neurodevelopmental disorders may originate during fetal life from genetic as well as intrauterine and extrauterine factors that affect the fetal-maternal environment. Fetal neurodevelopment depends on cell programs, developmental trajectories, synaptic plasticity, and oligodendrocyte maturation, which are variously modifiable by factors such as stress and endocrine disruption, exposure to pesticides such as chlorpyrifos and to drugs such as terbutaline, maternal teratogenic alleles, and premature birth. Current research illustrates how altered fetal mechanisms may affect long-term physiological and behavioral functions of the central nervous system more significantly than they affect its form, and these effects may be transgenerational. This research emphasizes the diversity of such prenatal mechanisms and the need to expand our understanding of how, when altered, they may lead to disordered development, the signs of which may not appear until long after birth.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Connors, SL; Levitt, P; Matthews, SG; Slotkin, TA; Johnston, MV; Kinney, HC; Johnson, WG; Dailey, RM; Zimmerman, AW
Published Date
- March 2008
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 38 / 3
Start / End Page
- 163 - 176
PubMed ID
- 18279750
Pubmed Central ID
- 18279750
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0887-8994
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2007.10.009
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- United States