Maternal Fasting in Mice Induces Schizophrenia-Related Phenotypes

Schizophrenia is a severe, chronic neurodevelopmental disorder affecting approximately 20 million people worldwide [1, 2]. While its etiology involves a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors, the precise mechanisms remain a long-standing clinical question [3, 4]. Seminal epidemiological studies, particularly those examining the Dutch Hunger Winter, established a durable link between maternal famine in early gestation and an elevated risk of schizophrenia in offspring, supporting the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) framework [3]. However, the molecular pathways translating this early nutritional stress into lifelong psychiatric vulnerability have been poorly understood. A new animal study now provides a mechanistic bridge between these historical observations and the underlying neurobiology.