Figure 3
From: Early hippocampal volume loss as a marker of eventual memory deficits caused by repeated stress
Effects of chronic stress on hippocampal volume.
(a) Coronal sections showing delineated left (yellow) and right (red) hippocampus. The number on the top-right corner of each image is distance (mm) from bregma. The horizontal white bar in each figure represents the scale-bar. (b) A three-dimensional surface rendered reconstruction of the hippocampi. The yellow and red arrows denote the left and right hippocampus respectively. (c) Hippocampal volume measurements (mean ± SEM). (Left) The total hippocampal volume is significantly lower in the stressed (N = 9) group as compared to the unstressed (N = 10) group on days 3, 7 and 11 (Factor stress: F(1, 17) = 58.74, p < 0.0001; factor time: F(2, 34) = 4.930,p = 0.0132; interaction: F(2, 34) = 2.274, p = 0.1183). (Middle and right) The hippocampal volume loss shows an asymmetry between the left and the right hippocampi. The left hippocampal volume is significantly lower in the stressed animals in comparison to their unstressed counterparts on days 3, 7 and 11. However, the right hippocampal volume in stressed animals is significantly lower than the unstressed animals only on day11. There is also a significant reduction in right hippocampal volume of the stressed animals only on day11 in comparison to day3 (Factor stress (between subjects): F(1, 17) = 58.738, p < 0.001; factor time (within subject): F(2, 34) = 4.071, p = 0.026; factor hemisphere (within subject): F(1,17) = 78.904, p < 0.001; interaction stress*hemisphere: F(1, 17) = 8.076, p = 0.011). An asterisk indicates significant differences (*p < 0.05 level and **p < 0.01, post hoc Tukey’s multiple comparison test).
