Fig. 1

Decreased activity in the mPFC is associated with cranial irradiation induced anxiety-like behaviors. (A) Schematic of experiment procedures. Mice received sham irradiation (Sham) or 15 Gy cranial irradiation (RAD). Behavioral tests were conducted at 2 weeks (2 wk) post irradiation. Mice were sacrificed 2 days after the last behavioral test ended. SPT: splash test, OFT: open field test, D-L Box: dark-light box. (B) Quantification of the grooming duration during the splash test (Sham: n = 10; RAD: n = 9). (C) Quantification of total distance travelled, percentage of the time spent in center zone, and travelled distance in center zone as a percentage of the total distance in the open field test (Sham: n = 10; RAD: n = 9). (D) Quantification of time spend in the light box as a percentage of the total time in the D-L Box (Sham: n = 10; RAD: n = 9). (E) Quantification of % Alteration in the Y maze test (Sham: n = 9; RAD: n = 10). (F) The whole-brain analysis comprises 20 atlas-defined mouse brain regions. Colors reflect the decreased (red) or unaltered (gray) c-FOS expression in 15 Gy radiation group (RAD) compared to the sham radiation group (Sham). (G) The fold changes in the density of c-FOS positive cells in different brain regions, compare to the Sham group. Similar amounts of male and female mice were used for each group and the results were combined for statistical analysis (Sham: n = 13–15; RAD: n = 16–18; removed outliers: Sham-M1: n = 1; Sham-vHC: n = 1). (H) Representative images of c-FOS staining in the mPFC. Scale bar, 200 μm. (I-K) Correlation of the density of c-FOS positive cells in the mPFC with the grooming duration in the SPT (I), the percentage of travelled distance and time in the center zone compared to total distance and time (J), and the time spend in the light box as the percentage of total time in the D-L Box (K) (n = 15). Data are presented as mean ± s.e.m. and analyzed by student’s t test (B-E), multiple t tests (G) or Pearson’s correlation test (I-K)