Fig. 2
From: Paraventricular hypothalamic vasopressin neurons induce self-grooming in mice
Optogenetic activation of PVHAVP neurons increases self-grooming in freely moving mice. A Schematic representation of viral vector injection strategy and optic fiber placement above the PVH in Avp-Cre mice. B A representative coronal brain section of the PVH prepared from an Avp-Cre mouse with a targeted injection of AAV-EF1α-DIO-SSFO-EYFP in the PVH. The position of an optic fiber implant is indicated by a dotted white line. 3v, third ventricle; Scale bar: 300 μm. C Representative coronal brain sections prepared from Avp-Cre mice expressing SSFO-EYFP or EGFP in the PVH 90 min after a blue-light stimulation (2 s). Slices were double-stained with anti-GFP (green) and anti-c-Fos (red) antibodies. Scale bar, 60 μm. D c-Fos expression was increased by SSFO-EYFP stimulation in PVHAVP neurons (n = 3). E Time courses of behaviors of 2 mice expressing SSFO-EYFP and 2 mice expressing EGFP in PVHAVP neurons subjected to blue-light illumination. The stimulation point is shown by a blue arrow and denoted as 0 min in the time course. F Time spent self-grooming, G number of grooming bouts, and H mean duration of grooming bouts for 10 min following blue-light illumination. Values are mean ± SEM; n = 4; *p < 0.05, ***p < 0.001 by Welch's t-test (D, F, G and H)