Prenatal infection and stress in puberty have each been associated with increased risk for neuropsychiatric disorders. However, evidence is lacking for the cumulative impact of such pre- and postnatal environmental challenges on brain function and vulnerability to psychiatric disease. The authors of this paper use a translational mouse model to show that combined exposure to prenatal immune challenge and peripubertal stress induces synergistic effects on adult behavior and neurochemistry. The prenatal insult markedly increased the vulnerability of the pubescent offspring to brain immune changes in response to stress. The authors conclude that their findings of interactions between two adverse environmental factors support the theory that mental illnesses with delayed onsets may involve multiple environmental hits.
Giovanoli S, Engler H, Engler A, Richetto J, Voget M, Willi R, Winter C, Riva MA, Mortensen PB, Schedlowski M, Meyer U: Stress in Puberty Unmasks Latent Neuropathological Consequences of Prenatal Immune Activation in Mice. Science 339 (6123): 1095-1099 (2013).
