Prenatal monosodium glutamate (MSG) treatment given through the mother's diet causes behavioral deficits in rat...

The present study reports various developmental and behavioral changes in the offspring of rat dams that received monosodium glutamate (MSG) in the drinking water all through the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Three main effects were observed in the MSG exposed offspring: (1) juvenile obesity; (2) reduced general activity levels; (3) a specific type of learning disability in discrimination learning involving choice between simultaneously present positive and negative stimuli.