Skip to main content
. 2023 Dec 7;17:1292642. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1292642

Figure 3.

Figure 3

Maternal dietary manipulation (high fat diet and caloric restriction) resulted in altered body weights, behavior, and stress response in prepubertal male and female offspring. (A) Neonatal body weights were unchanged in high fat diet (HFD) but decreased in CR offspring pups. Over time, (B) male and (C) female offspring exposed to maternal HFD increased in body weight compared to controls, while caloric restriction (CR) offspring decreased in weight. Anxiety-like behavior was altered by diet manipulation. HFD and CR males showed increased anxiety-like behavior in open field assay, as measured by (D) time spent in center and (E) total distance traveled. Only CR females exhibited increased anxiety-like behavior with decreased (D) time spent in center and (E) total distance traveled in open field test. Social behavior was impaired in HFD males and females and CR females with decreased (F) time spent with and (G) frequency of visits to stimulus mouse. Plasma corticosterone levels were increased in (H) HFD males after 20 min of restraint. HFD and CR males both demonstrated prolonged elevations of corticosterone after 60 min recovery. (I) HFD females showed increased baseline corticosterone levels while CR females had elevated levels after 20 min of restraint and 60 min recovery. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, and ****p < 0.0001 vs. Control. #HFD vs. Control. +CR vs. Control.