Supplementary Figure 5: Acute Oxtr^PBN neuron inhibition increases fluid intake after dehydration, but does not affect baseline food or fluid intake

(a) Injection of AAV-DIO-hM₄Di:mCherry in Oxtr^PBN neurons. (b) Representative images of hM₄Di and mCherry expression in Oxtr^PBN neurons; scp, superior cerebellar peduncle; dl, dorsolateral; el, external lateral; scale bar 100 µm. (c) Acute Oxtr^PBN inhibition increases NaCl and water intake following 24-h dehydration (n = 5 hM₄Di, 6 mCherry; 2-way RM ANOVA; NaCl: interaction F(8,72) = 2.962; p = 0.0064; water: interaction F(8,72) = 2.289; p = 0.0304), but (d) does not significantly alter fluid intake at baseline during the light cycle (n = 5 hM₄Di, 6 mCherry; 2-way RM ANOVA; NaCl: interaction F(8,72) = 0.1264; p = 0.9979; water: interaction F(8,72) = 0.6017; p = 0.7734). (e) Oxtr^PBN inhibition does not significantly alter food intake during the dark or light cycle (n = 5 hM₄Di, 6 mCherry; 2-way RM ANOVA; baseline food: interaction F(8,72) = 0.2429; p = 0.9811; post 24-h fast: interaction F(8,72) = 1.040; p = 0.4510). (f) There was no significant correlation between the level of hM₄Di:mCherry expression and the amount of fluid intake after 24-h dehydration (n = 5; Pearson product-moment correlation; NaCl: r = 0.6649; p = 0.2208; water: r = −0.6857; p = 0.2013). Data are expressed as mean ± s.e.m. **p < 0.01; *p < 0.05. See Supplementary Information for statistical analyses