Undernutrition by rearing in large litters delays the development of reflexive, locomotor, and memory processes in mice.

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Abstract
The effects of early postnatal undernutrition on the ontogeny of several behavioral capacities of varying complexity were investigated in the mouse. Following birth, mouse pups were reared in either normally nourished or undernourished conditions by maintaining litter sizes at 6 or 16. The development of adultlike patterns of swimming behaviors and spontaneous locomotor activity as functions of litter size were examined. The maturation of both behavior patterns was delayed by about 2 days in the 16-litter mice. Normally nourished and undernourished mice received 25 trials in a shock-escape T-maze at 9, 11, and 13 days of age, followed by similar retention tests 24 h later. Although litter size had little effect upon correct turns at each age during training, mice reared in litters of 6 exhibited significant retention of prior training by 12 days of age, whereas comparable retention was not noted for the large litter mice until 14 days of age. Nutritional deficits, imposed by rearing in large litters during the postnatal period of rapid CNS maturation, may retard the development of behavioral capacities involving both unlearned and learned responses.

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