People who were exposed to low levels of certain hormones in the womb may be more likely to develop anxiety and other emotional imbalances, a study has found.
Scientists at the universities of Cardiff and Cambridge carried out a series of experiments on mice to investigate the possible links between hormone imbalances during early development and poor mental health.
They discovered that adult mice that had been deprived of a hormone called insulin-like growth factor-2 (Igf2) in the womb were more susceptible to poor mental health and anxiety than other mice.
The findings suggest that changes in the levels of this hormone in the placenta and thus in the foetus may have a lasting impact on emotional behaviour into adulthood.
'This is the first example of what we have termed 'placental-programming' of adult behaviour,' said Dr Trevor Humby from Cardiff University.
He added that the seeds of human behaviour and vulnerability to mental health conditions such as anxiety may be sown 'much earlier than previously thought'.
View the research in the journal Nature Communications