The effect of developmental vitamin D deficiency in male and female Sprague–Dawley rats on decision-making using a rodent gambling task

•Evidence from animal experiments now demonstrates that prenatal vitamin D levels influence brain development and behaviour.•DVD-deficient rats were faster to reach criteria on the gambling task than controls.•Prenatal vitamin D deficiency did not alter decision making choice.•Female rats were faster than males to reach optimal choice on the gambling task.•Female Sprague–Dawley rats did not differ from males in their decision making.

Developmental vitamin D (DVD) deficiency is a plausible risk factor for schizophrenia that has been associated with behavioural alterations including disruptions in latent inhibition and response inhibition. The rodent gambling task (rGT) assesses risk-based decision-making, which is a key cognitive deficit observed in schizophrenia patients. The primary aim of this study was to examine risk-based decision-making in DVD-deficient and control rats on the rGT. We also evaluated the performance of female Sprague–Dawley rats on the rGT for the first time. Adult male and female Sprague–Dawley rats from control and vitamin D deficient dams were trained to perform the rGT in standard operant chambers and their performance and choice-preferences were assessed. Female rats were significantly faster to reach rGT training criteria compared with male rats and DVD-deficient rats were faster to reach training criteria than control animals. After reaching stable performance on the rGT DVD-deficient and control rats showed a significant preference for the optimal choice-option in the rGT, but there were no significant effects of sex or diet on these responses. DVD deficiency did not alter the decision-making processes on the rGT because no significant changes in choice-preferences were evident. This is the first study to demonstrate that once established, the performance of females is comparable to male Sprague–Dawley rats on the rGT.