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Exposure to a maternal cafeteria diet changes open-field behaviour in the developing offspring

Speight, Abigail; Davey, William; McKenna, Emily; Voigt, J�rg-Peter

Exposure to a maternal cafeteria diet changes open-field behaviour in the developing offspring Thumbnail


Authors

Abigail Speight

William Davey

Emily McKenna

J�rg-Peter Voigt



Abstract

The early postnatal period is a sensitive period in rodents as behavioural systems are developing and maturing during this time. However, little is currently known about the behavioural effects of feeding a hyper-energetic cafeteria diet (CD) during the lactational period when offspring behaviour is tested during early adolescence. To this end, 23 days old offspring from dams (Wistar) fed on CD during lactation were tested in either the open-field or the elevated plus-maze for exploration and anxiety-related behaviour. On postnatal day 9, maternal behaviour and non-maternal behaviour of the dam was assessed. It was hypothesized that lactational CD feeding would reduce anxiety in the offspring. CD-fed dams had a higher energy intake, due to an overconsumption of sugars and fats. When offspring from these dams were exposed to the open field after weaning, their locomotor activity was increased. They entered the more aversive inner zone of the open-field after a shorter latency, made more entries into and spent more time in the inner zone. Anxiety-related behaviour was not affected upon exposure to the elevated plus maze, suggesting anxiolysis in the open-field only. Increased maternal licking/grooming behaviour could possibly contribute to the anxiolytic phenotype as observed in the offspring from the CD group. In conclusion, we demonstrate that lactational overfeeding impacts on the development of behaviour in the early adolescent rat.

Citation

Speight, A., Davey, W., McKenna, E., & Voigt, J. (2017). Exposure to a maternal cafeteria diet changes open-field behaviour in the developing offspring. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, 57, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2016.12.005

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Dec 20, 2016
Online Publication Date Dec 23, 2016
Publication Date Apr 1, 2017
Deposit Date Jan 31, 2017
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience
Print ISSN 0736-5748
Electronic ISSN 1873-474X
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 57
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2016.12.005
Keywords Cafeteria diet; Plus maze; Open-field; Lactation; Anxiety;
Maternal behaviour; Rat
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/854090
Publisher URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0736574816302866

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