Fig. 2

Neural activity regulates taste memory allocation in BLA neurons. a Experimental schema. Representative picture shows localized hM3Dq (magenta) expression in the BLA. Scale bar = 1000 um. b Representative images showing expression of c-fos (green) following conditioning and hM3Dq (magenta). Yellow arrows indicate double-labeled neurons (c-fos + and hM3Dq+). Scale bar = 100 um.c-d Expression probability of expression of c-fos + following conditioning in hM3Dq + neurons (c) and DAPI+ cells (d) in the BLA (saline group, N = 4, CNO group, N = 5 animals). e Representative images showing the expression of c-fos (green) following memory retrieval test and hM3Dq (magenta). Yellow arrows indicate double-labeled neurons (c-fos + and hM3Dq+). Scale bar = 100 um. f-g Probability of occurrence of c-fos + neurons in the hM3Dq + neurons (f) and DAPI+ cells (g) in the BLA (saline group, N = 7, CNO group, N = 8 animals). h Data showing the mean quantity of saccharine solution consumed during the conditioning. i Data showing the aversion index in the memory retrieval test (saline group, N = 9 in each group). Data are presented as mean ± SEM; **p < 0.01 and ***p < 0.001 (saline-injected mice, black columns; CNO-injected mice, red columns)