Disruptions in brain development are linked to higher risks of brain and mental illnesses. While genetics are known to play a role, environmental factors at the molecular and cellular levels have been less studied.

The international team of researchers from Karolinska Institutet, the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, and Helmholtz Munich aimed to understand how glucocorticoids — hormones involved in the body’s stress response and crucial for normal fetal development — affect brain development when overexposed.

The findings reveal that fetuses are more vulnerable to external influences like stress than previously thought. This stress can impact fetal brain development.