Figure 1.

Experimental timeline for animal studies. P35‐P40 female mice were placed on one of four diets (LFD/Control, HFD/Control, LFD/BCAA, or HFD/BCAA) and fed ad libitum for 6 weeks before the introduction of adult breeder males. Dams (n = 16–20/diet group) were singly housed once visibly pregnant, were allowed to give birth naturally, and remained on the diets throughout pregnancy and lactation. All litters were observed and maternal behavior scored three times daily from P2 to P8. Eight days after parturition, half of the dams (n = 8–11/diet group) underwent behavioral assessments in elevated zero maze (EZM), open field test (OFT), and Porsolt forced‐swim test (FST), blood draws, and sacrifice to obtain brain tissue for analysis. For the remaining dams (n = 8–9/diet group), pups were weaned on P28, and immediately afterward dams underwent behavioral assessments, blood draws, and sacrifice for brain tissue analysis as at P8