Pregnancy stress and chemical exposures: effects on children's brain, inflammation, and gut microbiome
Prenatal Maternal Stress, Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, and Cognitive Development: Potential Roles for Inflammation and the Developing Gut Microbiome
['FUNDING_R01'] · MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY · NIH-11283930
The team will look at whether stress during pregnancy and exposure to chemicals change inflammation and the baby's gut microbiome and how that links to thinking skills in young children.
Quick facts
| Phase | ['FUNDING_R01'] |
|---|---|
| Study type | Nih_funding |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY (nih funded) |
| Locations | 1 site (EAST LANSING, UNITED STATES) |
| Trial ID | NIH-11283930 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this research studies
If you join, researchers will follow mothers and their children from pregnancy through early childhood using an existing statewide group of about 1,100 families. They will measure mothers' stress and chemical exposures during pregnancy, test blood for inflammatory markers, and analyze children's stool to track the developing gut microbiome. Children will receive cognitive testing and multimodal brain imaging at ages 4–6 to connect biological measures with thinking and learning. The project includes families affected by COVID-19–related stress and focuses on potentially modifiable pathways that could guide future ways to protect children's development.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are pregnant people and their children, especially those concerned about prenatal stress or chemical exposures and parents of children around 4–6 years old for imaging visits.
Not a fit: People who are not pregnant, whose children are older than the 4–6 year imaging window, or who have no relevant prenatal exposure or stress concerns are unlikely to receive direct benefit.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to inflammation or the gut microbiome as targets for future treatments or preventive steps to protect kids' cognitive development after prenatal stress or chemical exposure.
How similar studies have performed: Prior studies have linked prenatal stress and some contaminants to lower child cognitive scores, but combining inflammation, the developing gut microbiome, and child neuroimaging to explain these effects is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
EAST LANSING, UNITED STATES
- MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY — EAST LANSING, UNITED STATES (ACTIVE)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: KNICKMEYER, REBECCA — MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
- Study coordinator: KNICKMEYER, REBECCA
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.