Dads, take note. Your stress may affect your child’s brain development in the future

According to the researchers, the stress changes the father’s sperm which can then alter the brain development of the child.

Taking too much stress may affect the brain development of your kids, a new study has claimed. According to the researchers, the stress changes the father’s sperm which can then alter the brain development of the child.

The father’s sperm showed changes in a genetic materials that are important because they play a key role in which genes become functional proteins. (Shutterstock)

This new research provides a much better understanding of the key role that fathers play in the brain development of their kids, the researchers said. Previously, the researchers including Tracy Bale at the University of Maryland School, found that adult male mice, experiencing chronic periods of mild stress, have offspring with a reduced response to stress; changes in stress reactivity have been linked to some neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression and PTSD.

They isolated the mechanism of the reduced response; they found that the father’s sperm showed changes in a genetic material known as microRNA. MicroRNA are important because they play a key role in which genes become functional proteins.

Now, the researchers have unravelled new details about these microRNA changes. In the male reproductive tract, the caput epididymis, the structure where sperm matures, releases tiny vesicles packed with microRNA that can fuse with sperm to change its cargo delivered to the egg, they said.

The researchers also noted that by learning more about links between a father’s exposure to stress and the risks of disease for his kid, we can better understand, detect, and prevent these disorders.