Maternal Insulin Sensitivity and Fetal Brain Activity

There is increasing evidence that an adverse intrauterine environment may have lifelong consequences for the offspring related to disease development. One determining factor can be the metabolic status of the mother. We present data addressing the relationship between maternal insulin sensitivity and fetal brain activity in humans. We briefly review the current knowledge on insulin sensitivity in the adult brain and on studies investigating fetal programming in animal models. Fetal brain activity can be recorded completely non-invasively in humans with fetal magnetoencephalography. First studies on the influence of maternal metabolism on fetal brain activity are described. These findings indicate that maternal insulin sensitivity directly affects fetal brain development.