Iron deficiency (ID) affects more than three billion people worldwide making it the most common micronutrient deficiency. ID is most prevalent during gestation and early life, which is of particular concern since its impact on the developing central nervous system is associated with an increased risk of a wide range of different psychiatric disorders later in life. The cause for this association is not known, but many of these same disorders are also associated with an imbalance between excitation and inhibition (E/I) within the brain. Based on this shared impairment, we asked whether ID could contribute to such an imbalance. Disruptions in the E/I balance can be uncovered by the brain's response to seizure inducing insults. We therefore tested the seizure threshold under different nutritional models of ID. We found that mice which were postnatally exposed to ID (and were acutely ID) had a decreased seizure threshold and increased susceptibility to certain seizure types. In contrast, mice that were exposed to ID only during gestation had an increased seizure threshold and low seizure incidence. We suggest that exposure to ID during gestation might alter the cellular components that contribute to the establishment of a proper E/I balance later in life. In addition, our data highlight the importance of considering the window of vulnerability since gestational ID and postnatal ID have significantly different consequences on seizure probability.

中文翻译：

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铁缺乏症会以特定的时间和性别方式影响癫痫发作的易感性。

铁缺乏症（ID）影响全球超过30亿人口，使其成为最常见的微量营养素缺乏症。ID在妊娠和早期生活中最为普遍，这尤其令人关注，因为它对发育中的中枢神经系统的影响与以后生活中各种精神疾病的风险增加有关。这种关联的原因尚不清楚，但是许多相同的疾病也与大脑内兴奋与抑制（E / I）之间的不平衡有关。基于这种共同的减损，我们询问ID是否会导致这种不平衡。大脑对诱发癫痫发作的反应可以揭示E / I平衡的破坏。因此，我们在ID的不同营养模型下测试了癫痫发作阈值。我们发现，出生后暴露于ID（并为急性ID）的小鼠癫痫发作阈值降低，对某些癫痫发作类型的敏感性增加。相反，仅在妊娠期间暴露于ID的小鼠癫痫发作阈值增加且癫痫发生率低。我们建议在妊娠期间暴露于ID可能会改变细胞成分，这些成分有助于在以后的生活中建立适当的E / I平衡。此外，我们的数据强调了考虑脆弱性窗口的重要性，因为妊娠ID和出生后ID对癫痫发作可能性的影响显着不同。仅在妊娠期间暴露于ID的小鼠癫痫发作阈值增加且癫痫发作率低。我们建议在妊娠期间暴露于ID可能会改变细胞成分，这些成分有助于在以后的生活中建立适当的E / I平衡。此外，我们的数据强调了考虑脆弱性窗口的重要性，因为妊娠ID和出生后ID对癫痫发作可能性的影响显着不同。仅在妊娠期间暴露于ID的小鼠癫痫发作阈值增加且癫痫发作率低。我们建议在妊娠期间暴露于ID可能会改变细胞成分，这些成分有助于在以后的生活中建立适当的E / I平衡。此外，我们的数据强调了考虑脆弱性窗口的重要性，因为妊娠ID和出生后ID对癫痫发作可能性的影响显着不同。