Research suggests that children born to mothers who had the flu or other infections during pregnancy have a higher risk for schizophrenia. A new study out of Temple examines what's behind that link. When a pregnant woman has an infection, her immune system produces certain proteins in response. The study found that some of these proteins can lead to increased risk for brain abnormalities associated with schizophrenia in the developing fetus. "There has to be some kind of predisposition to schizophrenia in order for there to be damage to the brain from these immune responses to infections," said lead researcher Lauren Ellman, a psychologist at Temple. "So one of the things I'm interested in is looking at specific genes that might make the fetal brain more susceptible."