Figure 3.

Plasma ACTH and corticosterone responses to stimulation by CRH in male (left panel) and female (right panel) rats that were chronically sleep restricted (SR) or served as ambulation controls (AC) during the abstinence phase of prior opioid exposure (Opioids) or vehicle (Control) treatments. CRH was administered in a bolus dose after blood sampling for basal plasma levels measured at 15, 30, and 60 minutes post-injection. The area under the curve (AUC) is expressed as individual values in dot plots with a box showing the median and 25th to 75th percentiles. (a) p < .002 for the within-sex comparisons indicated by brackets above male treatment groups. (b) p < .001 for the main effect of sex, indicated by the vertical bracket with caps located at the means. (c) p = .034 for pairwise comparisons (adjusted for multiple comparisons) of corticosterone concentration in AC males vs. AC females in each opioid- and vehicle-treated group, which was not found in SR males vs. SR females. N = 8 per group per sex.