Social behavior impairment in offspring exposed to maternal seizures in utero

Human and animal models have demonstrated that maternal seizures in utero could be deleterious to the development of the offspring. This study focused on the social behavior of offspring exposed to seizures in utero. A pilocarpine model of temporal lobe epilepsy was induced in female Wistar rats that were mated after the first spontaneous seizure. Early after birth, pups from an epileptic mother were reared by a control mother. To evaluate the influence of the adoption process, two other groups were added: rat pups from control mothers cross-fostered with other control mothers, and rat pups reared by their birth mother. Animals exposed to seizures in utero showed impaired social behavior with no signs of anxiety-like behavior. This study demonstrated that epileptic seizures during pregnancy could be harmful to brain development and may increase the risk of developing neurodevelopmental disorders. The mechanisms underlying the abnormalities of social behavior are not well understood, and further studies in this field are warranted.