Journal Article

Perinatal Western‐style diet exposure associated with altered sensory functional connectivity in infant Japanese macaques

Miranda‐Dominguez, Oscar, Fair, Damien A., Sullivan, Elinor L., Ramirez, Julian S. B., Perrone, Anders J., Papadakis, Samantha, Earl, Eric, Feczko, Eric, Sturgeon, Darrick, Madison, Thomas J., Mitchell, AJ, Dunn, Geoffrey A.

2025

Overview

Sensory processing disorder (SPD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by impaired sensory discrimination and responsivity. Although the causes and neural correlates of SPD remain poorly understood, prenatal influences should be considered, as the prenatal environment is strongly implicated in the progression of neurodevelopmental disorders. One factor hypothesized to promote SPD is perinatal Western‐style diet (WSD) exposure. This study explored the effects of perinatal WSD exposure on the proposed neural correlates of SPD in Japanese macaques. Functional connectivity between sensory and emotional processing areas was assessed at 4 months of age using resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs‐fMRI). A machine learning model successfully predicted perinatal diet group based on functional connectivity strengths, indicating that differences in sensory connectivity exist between diet groups. Intra‐somatomotor, visual‐auditory, somatomotor‐auditory, somatomotor‐visual, and intra‐visual network connections demonstrated the greatest differences between groups, with primary motor cortex connectivity being the most impacted. Connections to the amygdala were not major contributors to accurate model performance, but amygdala connectivity, especially to the somatomotor network, may still be a weak driver of model performance. These findings suggest that a proposed predictor of SPD, perinatal WSD exposure, impacts the functional connectivity of sensory processing areas relevant in SPD during early infancy. Perinatal Western‐style diet exposure was associated with altered functional connectivity in sensory and emotional processing areas in 4‐month‐old macaques.

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc,Wiley
• Subject: Amygdala / Animals / Auditory discrimination / Autism / Brain - diagnostic imaging / Brain - growth & development / Brain - physiopathology / Brain research / Calories / Carbohydrates / Cortex (motor) / Diet / Diet, Western - adverse effects / Female / Functional magnetic resonance imaging / Information processing / Longitudinal studies / Macaca / Machine learning / Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Male / motor cortex / Neural networks / Neural Pathways - physiopathology / neurodevelopment / Neurodevelopmental disorders / Neuroimaging / nonhuman primates / Obesity / Perinatal exposure / Postpartum period / Pregnancy / Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects - physiopathology / Sensory evaluation / Sensory integration / Sensory perception / sensory processing / somatosensory / Somatosensory cortex / Visual discrimination