# Effects of maternal obesity and inflammation on offspring brain development

> **NIH NIH R01** · ARKANSAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL RES INST · 2020 · $638,973

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 Maternal obesity is a prominent health concern for both pregnant women and their offspring. Recent
studies have revealed negative associations between maternal obesity during pregnancy and cognitive
functioning in children. Preliminary studies by us also indicated significant brain differences in newborns
associated with maternal obesity, suggesting that there are in utero effects of maternal obesity on fetal brain
development. Important questions remain to be answered and will be addressed in this proposal, such as
“What are the brain structures and functions most affected?”, “Are these effects persistent?”, and “What may
be the underlying mechanisms behind these brain changes?”. The goals of this project are to characterize the
effects of maternal obesity during pregnancy on infant brain development, reveal the neurodevelopmental
consequences, and identify possible mechanisms causing these effects. The overall hypothesis is that
maternal obesity during pregnancy exposes the fetus to an inflammatory environment that affects infant brain
structural and functional development and consequently neurodevelopmental outcome. To test the hypothesis,
normal-weight and obese pregnant women will be recruited, inflammatory markers associated with obese
pregnancy will be examined, and will be correlated with their offspring brain development evaluated using
advanced MRI and outcomes evaluated using neurodevelopmental tests. The specific aims are: 1) To detect
global and regional changes in newborn brain structural and functional development associated with maternal
obesity. A number of brain characteristics will be evaluated and compared at age 2 weeks using advanced MRI
methods, including grey matter volumetrics and cortical surface morphometry, white matter microstructure and
connectivity, and functional connectivity between regions likely impacted by maternal obesity. 2) To determine
if brain differences associated with maternal obesity persist in infancy and impact neurodevelopmental
outcomes. MRI will be repeated at age 1 and 2 years to determine if maternal obesity-related brain changes
persist beyond the newborn age. Neurodevelopmental outcomes will also be assessed at age 2 years, which
will be compared between groups and correlated with MRI findings from newborns. 3) To measure the
inflammatory environment associated with maternal obesity and correlate with infant brain development.
Circulating pro-inflammatory mediators in pregnant women will be measured and correlated with maternal
adiposity at early pregnancy. Cord blood samples will also be examined for inflammatory markers at birth.
Levels of inflammatory markers will be correlated to MRI measurements of brain structure and function at
newborn, 1 year, and 2 years of age. Results of this project will help us better understand the negative impact
of maternal obesity on offspring health and inform us potential strategies to promote brain development in
children born to obese wome...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9991876
- **Project number:** 5R01HD099099-02
- **Recipient organization:** ARKANSAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL RES INST
- **Principal Investigator:** Xiawei Ou
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $638,973
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-10 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9991876

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9991876, Effects of maternal obesity and inflammation on offspring brain development (5R01HD099099-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9991876. Licensed CC0.

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