Fig. 4: Activation of oxytocinergic terminals in the IDSC enhances innate defensive behavior.
From: Early life adversity impairs visually evoked innate defensive behaviors via oxytocin signaling
a Schematic showing optogenetic activation of oxytocinergic terminals in the IDSC. b Representative image of AAV-hSyn-DIO-ChR2-mCherry expression (ChR2, red; DAPI, blue; scale bars, 500 μm and 50 μm). c Representative image showing ChR2-expressing terminals in the IDSC and the position of the fiber track (ChR2, red; DAPI, blue; scale bar, 500 μm and 50 μm). Comparison between ChR2-expressing OT-Cre mice and control mice of the (d) latency to refuge, e representative images of trajectories, f distance ratio, g speed (black line represents looming stimulus presentation), h mean return speed, i maximum speed, and (j) time spent in the refuge after looming (n = 37 trials from 13 mice for the mCherry group, n = 41 trials from 16 mice for the ChR2 group; Mann-Whitney U-test, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01).
