Skip to main content
[Preprint]. 2023 Oct 25:2023.10.25.564006. [Version 1] doi: 10.1101/2023.10.25.564006

Figure 3. Effects of Chemogenetic Inhibition during Familiarization on Novel Object Recognition.

Figure 3.

(a) Brain diagram describing bilateral VTA DREADD virus injections. The graph below details the virus’s specificity (magenta bar: percentage of mCherry+ neurons co-expressing TH+) and its efficacy (green bar: percentage of TH+ neurons co-expressing mCherry+). Accompanying photomicrographs display DREADD virus (hM4Di-mCherry) expression in VTA TH+ neurons. (b) NOR paradigms schematic detailing CNO injection timing, either before or after the familiarization session, using a within-subject counterbalanced design. (c) Pre-familiarization CNO injections reduce travel distance (****P < 0.0001; **P = 0.032) without affecting object exploration time. (d) Discrimination index for object exploration during NOR. CNO DREADD group (n=17) showed increased discrimination compared to Saline DREADD (n=13, *P = 0.046) and CNO mock groups (n=12, *P = 0.018). (e) NOR session exploration times, with the CNO DREADD group displaying a pronounced novel object preference (*P = 0.0004).