Maternal Exposure and Neurodevelopment: Convergence on Neuroinflammation

Early-life exposure to environmental factors, including maternal stress, substance use (alcohol, opioids, cannabis, nicotine, antidepressants, teratogenic agents) and infections (Zika, CMV, rubella, HSV, SARS-CoV-2 viruses, bacteria or parasites), is increasingly recognized as a disruptor of neurodevelopment with consequences that persist well beyond the neonatal period. A growing body of evidence points to dysregulated neuroinflammation, driven by microglial and astrocytic activation and altered cytokine signaling, as a common mechanism linking these diverse insults to disruptions in neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, and myelination during critical or sensitive developmental periods.Despite this convergence, substance-specific and infection-specific mechanisms are often studied within separate literatures, and the contribution of emerging factors such as the gut microbiome to these pathways is not yet well integrated into the broader picture. This Research Topic aims to bring together mechanistic and clinical perspectives on how prenatal and early-life exposures disrupt neurodevelopment through neuroinflammatory pathways, and how this translates into long-term cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioral outcomes, including elevated risk for ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, and anxiety or depression. By consolidating this evidence across exposure types, we aim to clarify shared mechanistic pathways and highlight opportunities for early biomarkers and intervention.This Research Topic invites contributions on the following themes:• Mechanisms of neuroinflammation following prenatal substance exposure (alcohol, opioids, cannabis, nicotine, antidepressants)• Neurodevelopmental consequences of maternal infection (Zika, CMV, rubella, HSV, SARS-CoV-2 viruses, bacteria and parasites)• Microglial and astrocytic activation, and cytokine/chemokine signaling, in the developing brain• Disruption of neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, myelination, and pruning by early-life insults and exposure to teratogenic agents or toxic compounds• The gut microbiome and gut-brain axis as mediators of neurodevelopmental outcomes• Effects of utero or early life substance or viral/microbial exposure on long-term cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioral outcomes, including risk for ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, and anxiety/depression • Translational and clinical approaches bridging preclinical mechanistic findings with human outcomesWe welcome original research and review articles spanning basic neuroscience, developmental biology, and clinical or translational research. Topic editors: Ping Wu, Tomomi Sato, Sachiko Tsuda, Shelly Alexandra Buffington Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/85922/maternal-exposure-and-neurodevelopment-convergence-on-neuroinflammation