Fig. 7: Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that acute and chronic GCR exposure differentially reorganized PFC neurotransmitter networks.
Box plot (a) showing overall pair-wise Pearsons correlation for each treatment group during K+ stimulation (4 mM: F(2,27) = 0.40, P > 0.05; 30 mM: F(2,27) = 6.44, P = 0.005; 60 mM: F(2,27) = 1.03, P > 0.05; 120 mM: F(2,27) = 4.69, P = 0.018). Plots show median, interquartile range, minimum, and maximum levels; One-way ANOVAs were followed by a Tukey’s Multiple Comparison post-hoc test: *P = 0.0153; **P = 0.0038. Heatmaps (b) depicting strength of pair-wise neurotransmitter correlations for all the target classes and concentration levels. All analysis is based on neurotransmitter data in Figs. 5, 6: control n = 10, acute n = 10, and chronic n = 8. Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient was calculated for each neurotransmitter pair to determine the relationship between each neurotransmitter. Significant change in correlation can be observed for each concentration across the target classes. Neurotransmitter networks (c) built using Pearson’s correlation ≥ 0.5 with a significance p-value of <0.05. Thickness of an edge represents the strength of the correlation. Significant reorganization of networks can be observed moving across the study groups. In general, ‘acute’ condition shows higher connectivity among the target classes for most of the concentration levels. For all other *P < 0.05 indicates significant difference compared to controls. DA dopamine, 5-HT serotonin, NE norepinephrine, Glu glutamate, GABA γ-aminobutyric acid.
