Research

The overarching research goal of the laboratory is to understand the influence of maternal nutrition and metabolic state during gestation on the offspring. The primary focus is examining the influence of the metabolic and dietary environment on behavioral regulation with an emphasis on behaviors related to mental health and behavioral disorders, including anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). One specific focus is the impact of exposure to maternal obesity and high-fat diet consumption during the perinatal period on the behavior, and physiology of the developing offspring.The research program includes three main lines of research described below.

1) Examining the Impact of Maternal Obesity and High-fat Diet Consumption on Offspring Behavior and Brain Development

These studies utilize a nonhuman primate model of high-fat diet-induced maternal obesity, established at the Oregon National Primate Research Center. Using this model, we have demonstrated that maternal high-fat diet consumption and obesity cause increased inflammation, which leads to reprogramming of the brain, peripheral organs, and subsequently physiology and behavior of the offspring. We have documented a number of behavioral abnormalities in offspring from mothers consuming a high-fat diet, including increased anxiety, increased aggression, reduced exploration of novelty, and decreased social behavior. These behavioral abnormalities mimic features of several mental health disorders including anxiety, depression, ADHD and ASDs. We identified a potential neural mechanism for these behavioral perturbations, as offspring of mothers that consumed a high-fat diet exhibit reduced serotonergic tone in the central nervous system, which we hypothesize to be the result of increased exposure to inflammatory cytokines during development. These studies are fundamental to understanding the impact of obesity on the behavioral regulation of the next generation. Considering that two-thirds of pregnant American women are overweight or obese; this may be one of the most common and influential environmental risk factor for behavioral disorders.

2) Examining the Impact of Maternal Diet on Risk for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs)

To directly translate the findings from the nonhuman primate model, we are conducting studies to examine the impact of maternal diet and mental health on infant temperament in humans. This study, in collaboration with Dr. Joel Nigg, from Oregon Health and Science University, examines the temperament of infants from parents diagnosed with ADHD. We also collect information on maternal and paternal factors including maternal diet during pregnancy, maternal mental health status and obtained cord blood and placenta during birth. In addition, to the videography of the behavior tests we collect saliva to measure cortisol and urine to examine environmental pollutants from each infant. We are examining the relationship between the behavioral data and information on maternal diet and health during pregnancy. These studies further our understanding of how maternal energy status, and pre-, and early- postnatal nutrition, and mental health influence susceptibility to obesity, and behavioral disorders, such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, and ASDs.

3) Examining the Impact of Maternal Malnutrition on Offspring Behavior and Cognitive Function

The goal of this project is to improve understanding of the mechanisms linking maternal nutrition and child health. The long-term objective of these studies is to establish a highly translational nonhuman primate model to test specific intervention strategies that effectively prevent the developmental abnormalities caused by maternal malnutrition and that are logistically viable. We are characterizing the impact of protein reduction during pregnancy on offspring social and cognitive behavior, as well as long-term changes in brain structure and function. These behavioral tasks will be coupled with the Magnetic Resonance Imaging-derived functional connectivity at the same ages.