Vitamin D is crucial for maternal care and offspring social behaviour in rats

What is it about?

We report that vitamin D deficiency during gestation and lactation in rats decreases the quality of maternal care and alters behaviour of male offspring. These altered behaviours include a marked increase in ultrasonic vocalisations, impaired social behaviours, and increased grooming, akin to an autism-like phenotype. This data highlights the crucial importance of optimal early life vitamin D level for adult neuropsychiatric health.

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