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Kathryn Lenz's Prenatal Allergy Study

March 27, 2019

Kathryn Lenz's Prenatal Allergy Study

A headshot of Kathryn Lenz, an assistant professor in the Psychology Department at OSU

A single allergic reaction during pregnancy prompts sexual-development changes in the brains of offspring that last a lifetime, new research suggests.

Female rats born to mothers exposed to an allergen during pregnancy acted more characteristically “male” – mounting other female rodents, for instance – and had brains and nervous systems that looked more like those seen in typical male animals.

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