BackgroundAntenatal infection/inflammation is associated with disturbances in neuronal connectivity, impaired cortical growth and poor neurodevelopmental outcomes. The pathophysiological substrate that underpins these changes is poorly understood. We tested the hypothesis that progressive inflammation in late gestation fetal sheep would alter cortical neuronal microstructure and neural function assessed using electroencephalogram band power analysis.MethodsFetal sheep (0.85 of gestation) were surgically instrumented for continuous electroencephalogram (EEG) recording and randomly assigned to repeated saline (control;n= 9) or LPS (0 h = 300 ng, 24 h = 600 ng, 48 h = 1200 ng;n= 8) infusions to induce inflammation. Sheep were euthanised 4 days after the first LPS infusion for assessment of inflammatory gene expression, histopathology and neuronal dendritic morphology in the somatosensory cortex.ResultsLPS infusions increased delta power between 8 and 50 h, with reduced beta power from 18 to 96 h (P< 0.05 vs. control). Basal dendritic length, numbers of dendritic terminals, dendritic arborisation and numbers of dendritic spines were reduced in LPS-exposed fetuses (P< 0.05 vs. control) within the somatosensory cortex. Numbers of microglia and interleukin (IL)-1β immunoreactivity were increased in LPS-exposed fetuses compared with controls (P< 0.05). There were no differences in total numbers of cortical NeuN + neurons or cortical area between the groups.ConclusionsExposure to antenatal infection/inflammation was associated with impaired dendritic arborisation, spine number and loss of high-frequency EEG activity, despite normal numbers of neurons, that may contribute to disturbed cortical development and connectivity.