Prenatal lipopolysaccharide increases maternal behavior, decreases maternal odor preference, and induces lipopolysaccharide hyporesponsiveness

The present study investigated whether late maternal inflammation disrupts the mother/pup interaction, resulting in long-lasting effects on pup behavior and alterations in biological pathways, thereby programming prepubertal behavior and the pups' inflammatory responses after bacterial endotoxin treatment. Female rats received 100 μg/kg lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or .9% saline solution on gestation day 18. Reproductive performance was observed at birth. On lactation days (LD) 5 and LD 6, respectively, maternal behavior and maternal aggressive behavior were assessed. In pups, maternal odor prefe...