Developmental and psychoneuroimmunological mechanisms in depression

This review addresses the possible effects of inflammation during pregnancy and its impact on offspring brain development. Activation of the immune system in pregnant women by e.g. infection or stress can result in different degrees of inflammatory responses, which in the long run may lead to the development of psychiatric disorders in the offspring. More specifically, during normal pregnancy, increased gonadal hormone levels induce immunosuppressive effects, through which women protect their foetus. This state of immune tolerance can be disrupted by the trigger of an inflammation, thereby impacting upon foetal brain development, concomitant with an increased predisposition to mental disorders in adulthood. As part of this process, maternal infection-induced cytokine production affects the action of enzymes, neurotransmitters, and hormones,