SYDNEY: Covid-19 infection causes changes in the sperm of mice that may lead to increased anxiety in their offspring.
Researchers at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health in Melbourne infected male mice with the virus and mated them with healthy females.
Study first author Elizabeth Kleeman stated that the resulting offspring showed more anxious behaviours compared to offspring from uninfected fathers.
The research published in Nature Communications found all offspring from infected fathers exhibited these behavioural changes.
Female offspring showed significant changes in gene activity within the hippocampus, the brain region regulating emotions.
Co-senior author Carolina Gubert explained this may contribute to increased anxiety via epigenetic inheritance and altered brain development.
The study is the first to demonstrate long-term impacts of Covid infection on behaviour and brain development across generations.
Researchers discovered the virus altered RNA molecules in the fathers’ sperm, affecting genes important for brain development.
Lead researcher Anthony Hannan said these findings suggest the pandemic could have long-lasting effects on future generations.
Hannan emphasised that further research is needed to determine if similar changes occur in humans.
He added that if findings translate to humans, this could impact millions of children worldwide with major public health implications.
The Covid pandemic officially caused over seven million deaths globally according to the World Health Organization.
Both the disease and official responses have had profound impacts on global mental health.
Younger people forced into isolation during key social development periods suffered the biggest mental health impacts.
A 2023 review in Nature Human Behaviour found children still had not recovered learning gaps from pandemic-era educational disruptions. – AFP
