Fig. 2: Flea bites reduce mice’s exploratory behavior and alter brain metabolic patterns.
From: Ectoparasites enhance survival by suppressing host exploration and limiting dispersal
a Open field test results shown as a boxplot: Flea− (red, n = 12) and Flea+ (blue, n = 12). One-sided t test was used. Flea+ mice exhibited reduced time in the central area (left) and fewer entries into the central area (right) compared to Flea− mice. Thick bars indicate the interquartile range (IQR) around the median, and whiskers represent 1.5 times the interquartile range (maxima: Q3 + 1.5 × IQR, minima: Q1−1.5 × IQR). Each black dot represents an individual. Asterisks indicate the significance. b Elevated plus maze results shown as a boxplot: Flea− (red, n = 8) and Flea+ (blue, n = 8). One-sided t test was used. Flea+ mice spent less time in the open arms compared to Flea− mice. Thick bars indicate the interquartile range (IQR) around the median, and whiskers represent 1.5 times the interquartile range (maxima: Q3 + 1.5 × IQR, minima: Q1−1.5 × IQR). Each black dot represents an individual. Asterisks indicate the significance. c Spearman correlation of 18F-FDG uptake between brain regions in the Flea− group (n = 6) and Flea+ group (n = 3). Two-sided t test was used. d 3D rendering of SPM-based voxel-level statistical analysis overlaid on an MR template image. Blue indicates hypometabolic regions in the Flea+ group, while red indicates hypermetabolic regions. Statistically significant clusters are marked in the figure. e Bar graph showing brain regions with significant differences in18F-FDG uptake between the Flea− (red, n = 6) and Flea+ (blue, n = 3) groups. Two-sided t test was used. Each black dot represents an individual. Asterisks indicate brain regions with significant differences. Data are presented as mean ± SEM. f–h Representative images of selected axial slices after spatial normalization. ARA standardized coordinates are indicated. PET brain activity is scaled to the cerebral global mean, with identical window/level settings applied to all animals. Source data are provided as a Source Data file. **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.
