19.5 ACUTE AND LASTING IMPACTS OF MATERNAL IMMUNE ACTIVATION ON PRENATAL CORTICAL DEVELOPMENT

Maternal immune activation (MIA) has emerged as a key environmental risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) and mental health disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia. Animal models of MIA provide an opportunity to identify molecular pathways that initiate disease processes and lead to NDD-related neuropathology and behavioral deficits. In this work, we sought to explore how poly(I:C)-driven MIA alters cortical development by identifying molecular pathways that initiate disease processes and lead to neuropathology and investigating how changes in gene co-expression during cortical development drive molecular pathology.