Fig. 1: Experimental details.

A Males: representative images showing c-Fos+ cells tagged with a green fluorescence protein (GFP) in the PVN. Scale bar = 100 μm. Each data point represents a single subject (average of c-Fos counts for 3 sections). Histograms display group averages +/- S.E.M. Comparisons were made using an unpaired 2-tailed t-test. Psilocin group n = 5; Vehicle group n = 5. B Females: representative images showing c-Fos+ cells tagged with a green fluorescence protein (GFP) in the PVN. Scale bar = 100 μm. Each data point represents a single subject (average of c-Fos counts for 3 sections). Histograms display group averages +/- S.E.M. Comparisons were made using an unpaired 2-tailed t-test. Psilocin group n = 4; Vehicle group n = 6. C Experimental timeline. Animals arrived at ~8 weeks old and were allowed to habituate for 1-week prior to surgeries. Bilateral injection of calcium sensor (jGCaMP7f-AAV9) and implantation of a dual tip fiber optic cannula were conducted. After allowing 3 weeks for viral transfection, animals underwent a series of fiber photometry experiments. D Illustration depicting the animal in open field box with air-puff apparatus and fiber photometry system. E Representative coronal section (left) and split cartoon schematic (right) showing fiber placement and GCaMP expression. F Baseline PVN reactivity Females (n = 16) vs. Males (n = 18): ΔF/F trace plots of changes in PVN fluorescence following exposure to a 500 ms air-puff. A 2-way ANOVA found a significant treatment x time interaction p < 0.0001. Šidák multiple comparisons found significant differences at time bin 12 (p = 0.0038) and 13 (p = 0.0140). Data points represent group averages within 500 ms binned window mean +/- S.E.M. (shaded area); Heatmaps (top right) comparing individual responses to air-puff (dotted line) in males and females. Average AUC and PP + /- S.E.M. (bottom right) compared by unpaired t-test. Each data point represents an individual subject. Comparisons were made using 2-tailed unpaired t-tests. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001. AUC = area under curve, PP = peak point, ΔF/F = change in fluorescence as a function of baseline fluorescence.