Chronic consumption of a high-fat diet during pregnancy causes perturbations in the serotonergic system and increased anxiety-like behavior in nonhuman primate offspring

Elinor L. Sullivan, Bernadette Grayson, Diana Takahashi, Nicola Robertson, Adriane Maier, Cynthia L. Bethea, M. Susan Smith, Kristine Coleman, Kevin L. Grove

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

250 Scopus citations

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.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3826-3830
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Neuroscience
Volume30
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 10 2010

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience

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