Perinatal exposure to omega-3 fatty acid imbalance leads to early behavioral alterations in rat pups
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Updated: Dec 19, 2025
Moderate Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Quantification of Social Behavior in Adult Rats
Published on: December 14, 2014
Paola Colucci1, Valentina De Castro2, Andrea Peloso2
1Dept. of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; Neurobiology of Behavior Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation, 00143 Rome, Italy.
Insights
Perinatal omega-3 fatty acid (n3-PUFA) imbalance, whether deficient or enriched, disrupts maternal behavior and causes early behavioral changes in rat pups. These findings highlight the critical role of n3-PUFA in early development.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Polyunsaturated long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (n3-PUFAs) are vital for brain development and function.
- Perinatal n3-PUFA deficiency is known to cause adult behavioral deficits, but early developmental impacts are less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate behavioral alterations in neonatal rats exposed to perinatal n3-PUFA imbalance (deficiency or enrichment).
- To assess the impact of n3-PUFA levels on maternal behavior and early pup emotional traits.
Main Methods:
- Female Sprague Dawley rats received n3-PUFA-enriched, n3-PUFA-deficient, or balanced diets during mating, pregnancy, and lactation.
- Maternal behavior was observed from postnatal day (PND) 2 to 13.
- Pups were tested for isolation-induced ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) at PNDs 3, 5, 9, and 13.
Main Results:
- Both n3-PUFA-enriched and deficient diets significantly reduced maternal behavior.
- Pups from n3-PUFA imbalanced groups emitted fewer USVs at PNDs 3 and 5 compared to controls.
- The sonographic pattern of USVs differed in test pups versus controls at PNDs 9 and 13.
Conclusions:
- Both n3-PUFA deficiency and supplementation during the perinatal period negatively impact mother-infant interactions.
- Early emotional development and behavior in rat offspring are sensitive to perinatal n3-PUFA status.
Abstract:
Polyunsaturated long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (n3-PUFAs) are crucially involved in brain development and function. Inadequate n3-PUFA intake in rats during the perinatal period leads to behavioral deficits in adulthood, but early behavioral changes have not yet been investigated. The present study aimed to investigate potential behavioral alterations in neonatal rats exposed to a perinatal n3-PUFA imbalance. Female Sprague Dawley rats were fed an n3-PUFA-enriched or an n3-PUFA-deficient diet throughout mating, pregnancy, and lactation. Controls were fed an n6/n3-PUFA-balanced diet. We observed maternal behavior from postnatal day (PND) 2 to PND 13 and tested pups in the isolation-induced ultrasonic vocalization (USV) emission task at PNDs 3, 5, 9 and 13 to evaluate the impact of perinatal n3-PUFA on early emotional traits. Both the n3-PUFA-enriched and n3-PUFA-deficient diets profoundly decreased maternal behavior. At PNDs 3 and PND 5, pups of the n3-PUFA-deficient or -enriched diet groups emitted significantly fewer USVs compared with control pups. Further, the sonographic pattern of the USVs was altered in the test pups compared with the control pups at PND 9 and PND 13. The present findings indicate that both n3-PUFA deficiency and supplementation induce alterations in mother-infant interaction and early behavioral disturbances in the offspring.
