Fig. 3: Chemogenetic inactivation of CA2 alters subject behavior during defeat.

a Acute social defeat experimental timeline. b No significant correlation was observed between the amount of aggression a subject mouse received during the day 1 defeat and the amount of time spent in the “far zone” of the arena (i.e. avoidance) 24 h after defeat (N = 36 mice, R² = 0.0052, p > 0.005). c No significant correlation was observed between the amount of total submission (combined flee/freezing + defensive behaviors) exhibited by subject mice during defeat and avoidance 24 h following the defeat (N = 35 mice, R² = 0.0297, p > 0.005). d During the 5-min defeat, the amount of submissive flee/freezing behaviors exhibited by subject mice positively correlates with an increase in CD1 avoidance 24 h after defeat (N = 36 mice, R² = 0.1196, p = 0.039). e The absolute amount of submissive fleeing/freezing did not significantly differ between the Cre- and Cre+ populations of defeated mice (Defeat Cre-: 39.11 ± 6.1 s vs. Defeat Cre + : 58.39 ± 9.0 s, N = 18, 18 mice, respectively, unpaired t-test p = 0.08). f Cre+ mice, with CA2 activity inhibited, spend significantly less time exhibiting defensive behaviors during defeat when compared to Cre- mice (Defeat Cre-: 44.06 ± 6.3 s vs. Defeat Cre + : 24.50 ± 5.2 s, N = 18, 18 mice, respectively, unpaired t-test p = 0.02). g Similarly, Cre- mice, on average, spent a significantly higher percent of total submission engaging in more defensive behaviors when compared to Cre+ defeat mice (Defeat Cre-: 52 ± 7.0% vs. Defeat Cre + : 30 ± 4.0%, N = 18,18, unpaired t-test p = 0.01). h The amount of aggression a subject mouse receives positively correlates with submissive defensive behaviors during the acute defeat (N = 36 mice, R² = 0.143, p = 0.023). *p < 0.05.