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.

多不饱和长链 omega-3 脂肪酸 (n3-PUFA) 对大脑发育和功能至关重要。围产期大鼠 n3-PUFA 摄入不足会导致成年后的行为缺陷，但尚未研究早期的行为变化。本研究旨在调查暴露于围产期 n3-PUFA 失衡的新生大鼠的潜在行为改变。在交配、怀孕和哺乳期间，雌性 Sprague Dawley 大鼠被喂食富含 n3-PUFA 或缺乏 n3-PUFA 的饮食。对照组喂食 n6/n3-PUFA 平衡饮食。我们观察了产后第 2 天 (PND) 到第 13 天的母体行为，并在第 3、5、9 和 13 天的隔离诱导超声发声 (USV) 发射任务中测试了幼崽，以评估围产期 n3-PUFA 对早期情绪的影响性状。富含 n3-PUFA 和缺乏 n3-PUFA 的饮食都显着降低了母亲的行为。在 PND 3 和 PND 5 时，与对照幼鼠相比，n3-PUFA 缺乏或富含饮食组的幼鼠排放的 USV 显着减少。此外，与 PND 9 和 PND 13 的对照幼崽相比，测试幼崽的 USV 超声模式发生了改变。目前的研究结果表明，n3-PUFA 缺乏和补充都会导致母婴互动和早期行为障碍的改变。子孙后代。