Maternal immune activation in nonhuman primates alters social attention in juvenile offspring.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Sickness during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of offspring neurodevelopmental disorders. Rodent models have played a critical role in establishing causal relationships and identifying mechanisms of altered brain and behavior development in pups prenatally exposed to maternal immune activation (MIA). We recently developed a novel nonhuman primate model to bridge the gap between human epidemiological studies and rodent models of prenatal immune challenge. Our initial results demonstrated that rhesus monkeys given the viral mimic synthetic double-stranded RNA (polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid stabilized with poly-l-lysine) during pregnancy produce offspring with abnormal repetitive behaviors, altered communication, and atypical social interactions.

Method

SUBMITTER: Machado CJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7010413 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature