Lipid malnutrition and early development: A study of motor reflexes and electrocorticographic activity in the mouse

The effects of malnutrition on the ontogeny of reflex and electrocorticographic (ECoG) activities were studied in the progeny of mice fed with diets deficient in essential fatty acids (EFA-deprived) during the last week of pregnancy. Previous findings suggested that prenatal deficiency in essential fatty acids may result in extensive modifications of brain lipid biochemistry. The present findings indicate that postnatal maturation of malnourished mice occurs at a later age for a number of motor reflex activities and for the ECoG patterns. The results also indicate that the study of malnutrition through a selective prenatal dietary deficiency presents a number of advantages in relation to postnatal undernutrition attained by varying the litter size.