Chronic consumption of a high-fat diet during pregnancy causes perturbations in the serotonergic system and increased anxiety-like behavior in nonhuman primate offspring.
Childhood obesity is associated with increased risk of behavioral/psychological disorders including depression, anxiety, poor learning, and attention deficient disorder. As the majority of women of child-bearing age are overweight or obese and consume a diet high in dietary fat, it is critical to examine the consequences of maternal overnutrition on the development of brain circuitry that regulates offspring behavior. Using a nonhuman primate model of diet-induced obesity, we found that maternal high-fat diet (HFD) consumption caused perturbations in the central serotonergic system of fetal offspring. In addition, female infants from HFD-fed mothers exhibited increased anxiety in response to threatening novel objects. These findings have important clinical implications as they demonstrate that exposure to maternal HFD consumption during gestation, independent of obesity, increases the risk of developing behavioral disorders such as anxiety.
Sullivan
Elinor L
EL
Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Sciences University, Beaverton, Oregon 97006, USA.
Grayson
Bernadette
B
Takahashi
Diana
D
Robertson
Nicola
N
Maier
Adriane
A
Bethea
Cynthia L
CL
Smith
M Susan
MS
Coleman
Kristine
K
Grove
Kevin L
KL
D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000523:psychology; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D008251:Macaca; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology; D039401:Prenatal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000502:physiology*; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D012911:Snakes; D013997:Time Factors
D004041:Dietary Fats; D012701:Serotonin