Figure 1. MIA as a disease primer.

This schematic depicts the current model for how MIA leads to psychiatric disorders in offspring. Infection leads to release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and activation of T_H17 cells in the mother’s bloodstream(6, 19). A combination of genetic background, autoimmune status, and second hits during childhood and adolescence (including stress and drug abuse) combine with the consequences of maternal infection to increase the likelihood of offspring developing psychiatric disorders as adults(3, 6, 14, 37).