title: Chronic consumption of a high-fat diet during pregnancy causes perturbations in the serotonergic system and increased anxiety-like behavior in nonhuman primate offspring.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Sciences University, Beaverton, Oregon 97006, USA.
authors.forename: Elinor L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.forename: Bernadette
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Grayson
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.forename: Adriane
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maier
authors.forename: Cynthia L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Bethea
authors.forename: M Susan
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Kristine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Coleman
authors.forename: Kevin L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Grove
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D012701:Serotonin