Harmful Prenatal Environments and Neurodevelopmental Disorders (1 CE)

Number of Credits: 1

This course is for:  Clinical Psychologists, Counselors, and Nurses

Course By: Tim Grigsby, PhD

Content By: Kundakovic, M., & Jaric, I. (2017). The epigenetic link between prenatal adverse environments and neurodevelopmental disorders. Genes, 8(3), e104.

Course Description: A wealth of evidence exists linking prenatal adversities—such as exposure to toxins, maternal stress, and substance use—to risk for neurodevelopmental disorders among offspring. Increasingly, researchers have begun to uncover epigenetic modifications that might explain this relationship. Animal, human, and experimental evidence suggests epigenetic changes are linked to changes in brain gene expression, stress reactivity and behavior. While evidence from human studies remains limited, epigenetic changes resulting from exposure to prenatal adverse environments seems a likely explanation for the increased risk for neurodevelopmental disorders. As technologies advance and methodologies strengthen, researchers will likely uncover the mediational role of epigenetic factors in risk for neurodevelopmental disorders.

Learning Objectives:

• List three examples of a prenatal adverse environment
• Describe the epigenetic process linking prenatal environments to neurodevelopmental disorders
• Identify two limitations that limit the ability of researchers to draw cause-effect conclusions about the relationship between prenatal environments and neurodevelopmental disorders

Course Outline:

• Read and understand The epigenetic link between prenatal adverse environments and neurodevelopmental disorders
• Review the Course Description and Learning Objectives
• Reflect on the epigenetic modifications associated with neurodevelopmental disorders that result from exposure to prenatal adverse environments
• Work through the post-test questions; keep in mind that answer selections should be derived from the respective article
• Return to the referenced article for any missed questions and/or to better understand the strengths of existing evidence on epigenetic changes associated with neurodevelopmental disorders and future directions to address ongoing challenges

Implicit biases incorporate an association that occurs outside of conscious awareness that may resultantly lead to a negative patient evaluation derived from irrelevant characteristics; i.e. gender and/or race. A systematic review of the literature was conducted. Thirty-five studies identified the existence of implicit bias in healthcare professionals; all correlational studies evidenced a significant positive relationship between implicit bias levels and lower quality of care (FitzGerald & Hurst, 2017). Continued research in health care settings, combined with greater method homogeneity, should be employed to examine the occurrence and prevalence of implicit biases in healthcare settings as a strategic approach for mitigating related disparities (FitzGerald & Hurst, 2017).

Reference:

FitzGerald, C., Hurst, S. (2017). Implicit bias in healthcare professionals: a systematic review. BMC Med Ethics 18, 19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-017-0179-8

Approvals: