Fig. 2: NPAS4 is induced by cocaine conditioning predominantly in MSNs. | Nature Communications

Fig. 2: NPAS4 is induced by cocaine conditioning predominantly in MSNs.

From: NPAS4 supports cocaine-conditioned cues in rodents by controlling the cell type-specific activation balance in the nucleus accumbens

Fig. 2

A Representative RNAscope images (left) with probes for Drd1a, Drd2, and tdTomato in NAc slices of NPAS4-TRAP/Ai14 mice that received 4OHT after two cocaine conditioning sessions and quantification (right) of co-localized tdTomato (Npas4) expression with Drd1a or Drd2 markers (n = 11 mice). B Experimental design for snRNA-seq (n = 4 mice/group). C Uniform manifold approximation and projection (UMAP) plot of NAc single cells colored by cell type. Cell types were defined using known markers and confirmed by predictive modeling using a single-cell NAc atlas (see “Methods” and Fig. S2). D Dot plot showing the cluster-specific markers used to generate UMAP. Gray, low gene expression; dark blue, high gene expression. The size of the circle represents the percentage of cells expressing highlighted genes. E Nebulosa plots depicting Npas4 expression in the home cage and cocaine conditioning experimental groups. F Pie charts showing the cell type distribution of neuronal populations (top), Npas4+ populations (middle), and the highest Npas4-expressing populations. G Npas4 expression is significantly increased for Drd1+_1, Drd1+_2, Drd2+_1, and Grm8+_1 cell types after cocaine conditioning (nuclei collected from n = 4 mice/group; Wilcoxen rank-sum test). Data are shown as mean ± SEM; ****p < 0.0001. Source data are provided in the Source Data file (A, F) or see “Data availability” for source data (C–E, G).

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