Maternal high-fat or low-protein diets promote autism-related behavior and altered social behavior within groups in offspring male mice.

ABSTRACT: Maternal malnutrition has been associated with neurodevelopmental deficits and long-term implications on the offspring's health and behavior. Here, we investigated the effects of maternal low-protein diet (LPD) or obesity-inducing maternal high-fat diet (HFD) on dyadic social interactions, group organization and autism-related behaviors in mice. We found that maternal HFD induced an autism-related behavioral phenotype in the male offspring, including a robust decrease in sociability, increased aggression, cognitive rigidity and repetitive behaviors. Maternal LPD led to a milder yet significant effect on autism-related symptoms, with no effects on olfactory-mediated social behavior. Under naturalistic conditions in a group setting, this manifested in altered behavioral repertoires, increase

SUBMITTER: Zilkha N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11336096 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature