Learning deficits in rats with malnourished grandmothers

Abstract

Female rats (F₀) were maintained on a protein-restricted or a normal diet 1 month prior to mating and throughout pregnancy. Their female offspring (F₁) were maintained on a normal protein diet and mated with normal males. In previously reported studies, the 2nd generation offspring (F₂) of the malnourished rats have been found at birth to have significantly lower cerebral DNA (a measure of cell number), cerebral weight, and cerebral protein than normal controls. We now report that these F₂ animals show marked learning deficits at maturity on 2 different successive reversal tasks, even though they themselves have never directly experienced malnutrition. Thus, certain behavioral as well as biochemical effects of malnutrition appear in the next generation of animals.