Advanced neuroimaging: A window into the neural correlates of fetal programming related to prenatal exposure to maternal depression and SSRIs

Abstract

Fetal programming is a conceptual framework whereby the in utero environment shapes the offspring's neurodevelopment. Maternal depression and treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants during pregnancy are common prenatal exposures that affect critical early life developmental programming processes. Prenatal depression and SSRIs both have been reported to increase the risks for preterm birth, low birth weight, and are associated with behavioral disturbances across the early life span. However, not all exposures lead to adverse developmental outcomes and distinguishing how each exposure contributes to variations in development remains challenging. Advances in neuroimaging, using MR and EEG, offer novel insights into central processes that might reveal the neural correlates of fetal programming. This review focuses on emerging findings from neuroimaging studies reflecting early brain functional and structural development associated with prenatal exposure to maternal depression and SSRI antidepressants. Suggestions for future research directions that use neuroimaging as a tool to advancing our understanding of the early origins of developmental plasticity are offered.

Keywords: Depression; Fetal programming; Neuroimaging; SSRI.