Fig. 1: Maternal n-3 PUFA deficiency alters neuronal morphology and function.

a Representative images of tertiary apical dendrites (upper panel) and dendritic arborization (lower panel) of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons from n-3 sufficient and n-3 deficient mice at P21 (Golgi staining). b Quantification of spine density, total dendritic length and total number of junctions in n-3 deficient and n-3 sufficient animals. For spine counting, n = 12 CA1 pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus, 15–45 segments per animal, 3 mice per group. Means ± SEM. Two-tailed unpaired Student’s t-test, t = 6.396, ***p < 0.0001. For dendritic arborization and total dendritic length, n = 5 neurons from 3 mice for n-3 deficient mice and n = 15 neurons from 4 mice for n-3 sufficient mice. Two-tailed unpaired Student’s t-test; Dendritic length, t = 2.501, *p = 0.0223; number of junctions: t = 1.118, p = 0.28. c Representative western blots. d Expression of scaffolding proteins in n-3 deficient mice relative to n-3 sufficient mice. Means ± SEM; n = 5–8 mice per group. Two-tailed unpaired Student’s t-test, t = 0.9986, p = 0.35, SAP102; t = 3.572, **p = 0.0044, cofilin; t = 3.529, **p = 0.0042, PSD95. e Time spent in novel vs familiar arm in the Y maze task. Means ± SEM; n = 10–17 mice per group. Two-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni post hoc test: diet effect, F(1,50) = 5.47, p = 0.071; arm effect, F(1,50) = 10.08, p = 0.015; interaction, F(1,50) = 8.08, p = 0.029; familiar vs novel arm for n-3 diet mice: *p < 0.05. Source data are provided as a Source data file.