Mice Born to Mothers Fed a Diet High in Omega-6 Fatty Acids and Low in Omega-3 Fatty Acids During Pregnancy Exhibit Various Behavioral Changes Including Impaired Social Behaviors and Enhanced Recognition Memory.
Mouse moms fed a high omega-6/low omega-3 diet had pups that grew into adults with weak social skills but sharp recognition memory.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Scientists fed pregnant mice a diet heavy in omega-6 fats and light in omega-3 fats. After birth, they watched the grown pups for social, memory, and activity changes.
The design was a lab RCT with neurotypical mouse pups. No treatment was given after birth; the exposure happened only during pregnancy.
What they found
Adult offspring from the high n-6/low n-3 diet showed weaker social interaction and stronger recognition memory. Female pups also became hyperactive.
The mixed pattern means one prenatal diet can both hurt and help different skills.
How this fits with other research
Rohr et al. (2022) saw the opposite: low-SES human infants explored objects less, not more. The clash fades when you see different risks—money stress vs fat imbalance—and different species.
SRVassos et al. (2023) gave rat pups healthy supplements and cut brain inflammation. Their work shows diet can protect; Marsack-Topolewski et al. (2025) shows diet can harm. Together they prove the prenatal menu matters in both directions.
Brugnaro et al. (2024) found another autism-like mouse line, but the trigger was a missing gene, not food. Both studies land at similar social deficits, hinting that many roads—genetic or dietary—can lead to the same behavioral spot.
Why it matters
If you work with young children who show social delays, ask about mom’s pregnancy diet. Suggest a quick chat with the pediatrician about fish, flax, or prenatal vitamins. You can’t rewrite prenatal history, but you can flag it in your assessment and partner with medical teams to balance fats going forward. Small menu tweaks today may protect the next sibling’s brain tomorrow.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
<h4>Background</h4>Modern dietary trends have led to an increase in foods that are relatively high in n-6 PUFAs and low in n-3 PUFAs. We previously reported that the offspring of mother mice that consumed a diet high in n-6 linoleic acid (LA) and low in n-3 α-linolenic acid (ALA), hereinafter called the LA<sup>high</sup>/ALA<sup>low</sup> diet, exhibited behavioral abnormalities related to anxiety and feeding.<h4>Objectives</h4>We currently lack a comprehensive overview of the behavioral abnormalities in these offspring, which was investigated in this study.<h4>Methods</h4>C57BL/6J virgin female mice at 11 wk of age were fed either a control diet or the LA<sup>high</sup>/ALA<sup>low</sup> diet, mated at 13 wk of age, and maintained on their respective diet throughout gestation. At birth, the lactating mothers' diet was replaced with standard laboratory feed pellets. After weaning, the offspring continued to receive standard laboratory feed pellets, and both male and female offspring at 1-63 wk of age were analyzed using a comprehensive behavioral test battery (n = 6-14 offspring/group and offspring in each group were derived from ≥3 independent litters).<h4>Results</h4>Both male and female offspring exposed in utero to the LA<sup>high</sup>/ALA<sup>low</sup> diet exhibited impaired social behaviors, including the lower number of contacts with novel mice in the social interaction test [diet, F<sub>(1,15)</sub> = 9.807, P = 0.007, 2-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)], and also showed enhanced recognition memory in the object location test (diet, F<sub>(1,36)</sub> = 6.779, P = 0.013, 2-way ANOVA) compared with offspring exposed in utero to the control diet. In addition, compared with sex-matched controls, female offspring displayed hyperactivity in the open field test (F<sub>(1,36)</sub> = 6.097, P = 0.018, simple main effect analysis).<h4>Conclusions</h4>The maternal balance between dietary n-6 and n-3 PUFAs during pregnancy can have significant effects on the offspring's behaviors, lasting well into adulthood.
, 2025 · doi:10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.12.031