Supplementary Figure 8: Optogenetic activation of MeA Ucn3 neurons does not alter nonsocial exploratory behavior
From: Ucn3 and CRF-R2 in the medial amygdala regulate complex social dynamics
(a) Illustration of the social maze with the optogenetic setup. (b) Transgenic mice expressing Cre-recombinase specifically in Ucn3 expressing neurons (Ucn3::Cre+) were injected with AAV5-EF1α-DIO-ChR2-eYFP virus bilaterally into the MeA, resulting in site specific (MeA) and cell specific (Ucn3) expression of Channelrhodopsin-2. (c) Exploratory behavior (number of visits to each chamber in the social approach test) of Ucn3::Cre+ mice (n=3, treatment) and Ucn3::Cre− control mice (n=4) did not differ (two-tailed Mann Whitney U test, p=0.4571, U=3.5, df=6). (d) Average speed of Ucn3::Cre+ mice (n=3, control) and Ucn3::Cre− control mice (n=4) did not differ (Two-tailed Mann Whitney U test, p=0.40, U=3, df=6). Bars represent mean ± s.e.m.
