Effect of maternal immune activation on rat pup development

Infection of the mother during pregnancy is one of recognized risk factors for the emergence of schizophrenia in the offspring. In animal models, maternal immune system activation (MIA) leads to schizophrenia-like alterations. Our earlier work has shown that a MIA model induced by injecting bacterial lipopolysaccharide to pregnant rat dams exhibits behavioral changes in adults rats.In the planned project, we will provide a detailed description of the ontogeny of the schizophrenia-like changes seen in the model. At this conference, we will present pilot data from first cohorts of rat pups and adolescents that were affected by prenatal exposure to bacterial lipopolysacharide. Pilot data will include results from behavioral experiments, such as sensorimotor abilities and neonatal ultrasonic vocalization of pups, playful behavior of juvenile rats and tests of emotionality of young adult rats. This project is supported by by the Czech Science Foundation (GAČR), project No. 23-06546S.