PMID- 34896909 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20220321 LR - 20220321 IS - 1532-2823 (Electronic) IS - 0952-3278 (Linking) VI - 176 DP - 2022 Jan TI - Influence of omega3 fatty acids on maternal behavior and brain oxytocin in the murine perinatal period. PG - 102386 LID - S0952-3278(21)00148-4 [pii] LID - 10.1016/j.plefa.2021.102386 [doi] AB - INTRODUCTION: Perinatal women often experience mood disorders and postpartum depression due to the physical load and the rapid changes in hormone levels caused by pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing. When the mother's emotions become unstable, their parental behavior (maternal behavior) may decline, the child's attachment may weaken, and the formation of mother-child bonding can become hindered. As a result, the growth of the child may be adversely affected. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of omega3 fatty acid deficiency in the perinatal period on maternal behavior and the oxytocin concentration and fatty acid composition in brain tissue. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Virgin female C57BL/6 J mice fed a omega3 fatty acid-deficient (omega3-Def) or adequate (omega3-Adq) diet were mated for use in this study. To assess maternal behavior, nest shape was evaluated at a fixed time from gestational day (GD) 15 to postpartum day (PD) 13, and a retrieval test was conducted on PD 3. For neurochemical measurement, brains were removed from PD 1-6 dams and hippocampal fatty acids and hypothalamic oxytocin concentrations were assessed. RESULTS: Peripartum nest shape scores were similar to those reported previously (Harauma et al., 2016); nests in the omega3-Def group were small and of poor quality whereas those in the omega3-Adq group were large and elaborate. The inferiority of nest shape in the omega3-Def group continued from PD 0-7. In the retrieval test performed on PD 3, dams in the omega3-Def group took longer on several parameters compared with those in the omega3-Adq group, including time to make contact with pups (sniffing time), time to start retrieving the next pup (interval time), and time to retrieve the last pup to the nest (grouping time). Hypothalamic oxytocin concentrations on PD 1-6 were lower in the omega3-Def group than in the omega3-Adq group. DISCUSSION: Our data show that omega3 fatty acid deficiency reduces maternal behavior, a state that continued during pup rearing. This was supported by the observed decrease in hypothalamic oxytocin concentration in the omega3-Def group. These results suggest that omega3 fatty acid supplementation during the perinatal period is not only effective in delivering omega3 fatty acids to infants but is also necessary to activate high-quality parental behavior in mothers. CI - Copyright (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. FAU - Harauma, Akiko AU - Harauma A AD - Laboratory for Functional Lipid Science, School of Life and Environmental Science, Azabu University, 1-17-71 Fuchinobe, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5201, Japan. FAU - Nakamura, Shunichi AU - Nakamura S AD - Laboratory of Food and Nutritional Science, Department of Food and Life Science, School of Life and Environmental Science, Azabu University, 1-17-71 Fuchinobe, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5201, Japan. FAU - Wakinaka, Natsuko AU - Wakinaka N AD - Laboratory of Food and Nutritional Science, Department of Food and Life Science, School of Life and Environmental Science, Azabu University, 1-17-71 Fuchinobe, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5201, Japan. FAU - Mogi, Kazutaka AU - Mogi K AD - Laboratory of Companion Animal Research, Department of Animal Science and Biotechnology, Azabu University, 1-17-71 Fuchinobe, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5201, Japan. FAU - Moriguchi, Toru AU - Moriguchi T AD - Laboratory for Functional Lipid Science, School of Life and Environmental Science, Azabu University, 1-17-71 Fuchinobe, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5201, Japan; Laboratory of Food and Nutritional Science, Department of Food and Life Science, School of Life and Environmental Science, Azabu University, 1-17-71 Fuchinobe, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5201, Japan. Electronic address: moriguchi@azabu-u.ac.jp. LA - eng PT - Journal Article DEP - 20211203 PL - Scotland TA - Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids JT - Prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and essential fatty acids JID - 8802730 RN - 0 (Fatty Acids, Omega-3) RN - 50-56-6 (Oxytocin) SB - IM MH - Animals MH - Animals, Newborn/metabolism MH - Diet/*methods MH - *Dietary Supplements MH - Fatty Acids, Omega-3/*administration & dosage MH - Female MH - Gestational Age MH - Hippocampus/chemistry MH - Male MH - Maternal Behavior/*drug effects MH - Mice MH - Mice, Inbred C57BL MH - Oxytocin/*biosynthesis MH - Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus/*metabolism MH - Parturition/drug effects/*metabolism MH - Postpartum Period/drug effects/*metabolism MH - Pregnancy MH - Signal Transduction/*drug effects OTO - NOTNLM OT - Maternal behavior OT - Oxytocin OT - Parental behavior OT - Perinatal period OT - Retrieving test OT - omega3 fatty acid EDAT- 2021/12/14 06:00 MHDA- 2022/03/22 06:00 CRDT- 2021/12/13 13:04 PHST- 2021/09/08 00:00 [received] PHST- 2021/11/24 00:00 [revised] PHST- 2021/12/01 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2021/12/14 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2022/03/22 06:00 [medline] PHST- 2021/12/13 13:04 [entrez] AID - S0952-3278(21)00148-4 [pii] AID - 10.1016/j.plefa.2021.102386 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2022 Jan;176:102386. doi: 10.1016/j.plefa.2021.102386. Epub 2021 Dec 3.