New research finds that caffeine consumed during pregnancy can alter important brain pathways that can lead to behavioral problems later in life. Researchers from the Del Monte Institute of Neuroscience at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) analyzed thousands of brain scans of nine- and ten-year-olds and revealed changes in brain structure in children exposed to caffeine in the uterus.
“These are kind of minor effects and they do not cause terrible psychiatric conditions, but they do cause minimal but noticeable behavioral issues that should make us consider the long-term effects of caffeine intake during pregnancy,” said John Foxe, Ph.D., director of the Del Monte Institute of Neuroscience, and principal investigator of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development or ABCD Study at the University of Rochester. “I assume the outcome of this study is a recommendation that caffeine during pregnancy is probably not such a good idea.”
Elevated behavioral issues, attention problems, and hyperactivity are symptoms that researchers observed in these children. “What makes it unique is that we have a biological pathway that looks different from your caffeine consumption during pregnancy,” said Zachary Christensen, an MD / Ph.D. candidate in the medical science training program and first author of the article published in the journal Neuropharmacology. “Previous studies have shown that children perform differently on IQ tests, or that they have different psychopathologies, but this can also be related to demographics, so it’s difficult to analyze them until you have something like a biomarker. This gives us a place to start future research to try to learn exactly when the change in the brain occurs. ‘
Investigators analyzed brain scans of more than 9,000 nine- and ten-year-old participants in the ABCD study. They found clear changes in the traces of white matter – which form connections between brain regions – in children whose mothers reported consuming caffeine during pregnancy.
URMC is one of 21 sites across the country collecting data for the ABCD study, the largest long-term study of brain development and children’s health. The study is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Ed Freedman, Ph.D., is the lead researcher on the ABCD study in Rochester and co-author of the study.
“It’s important to point out that this is a retrospective study,” Foxe said. “We rely on mothers to remember how much caffeine they ingested while they were pregnant.”
Previous studies have found that caffeine can have a negative effect on pregnancy. It is also known that a fetus does not have the necessary enzyme to break down caffeine as it passes through the placenta. This new study reveals that caffeine may also have a lasting impact on neurodevelopment.
The researchers point out that it is unclear whether the impact of caffeine on the fetal brain varies from one trimester to the next, or when these structural changes occur during pregnancy.
“Current clinical guidelines already point to limiting caffeine intake during pregnancy – no more than two normal cups of coffee a day,” Christensen said. “In the long run, we hope to develop better guidance for mothers, but in the meantime, they should ask their doctor if there are concerns.”
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