Maternal infections are a well-known risk factor for neurodevelopmental defects. Such defects are associated with a range of symptoms, and environmental enrichment (EE) could be a promising approach to rehabilitate these. We used the well-established prenatal poly I:C (polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid) model in rats to examine the effects of preweaning EE on rat pups’ ultrasonic vocalisations (USVs) when separated from their mothers. USVs are one of the earliest indicators of a pup’s functional level and, thus, well-suited as a marker of neurodevelopmental abnormalities.

We used a two-by-two factorial design in which pregnant Sprague–Dawley rats received either saline or the viral mimic poly I:C, and one group of pups was exposed to preweaning enrichment. We measured maternal separation-induced USVs both before postnatal day (PND) 7 and after preweaning enrichment on PND 14.

Poly I:C significantly reduced the number of USVs on PND 7. EE interacted with the poly I:C treatment in that poly I:C pups in the enrichment group called more, whereas saline pups in the enriched environment called less on PND 14 than the respective controls.

We showed that the effects of maternal poly I:C on the offspring’s USVs could be reduced by early EE. If replicated, it could open novel and safe avenues for treating children of mothers who were exposed to infections during pregnancy.