Skip to main content
. 2012 Feb 22;32(8):2824–2834. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3942-11.2012

Figure 2.

Figure 2.

P42 Nex-β1−/− mice have reduced hippocampal synaptic density and exhibit behavioral deficits. a, Representative electron micrographs of excitatory synaptic contacts in the CA1 region of the WT (left) and Nex-β1−/− P42 hippocampus. Scale bar, 500 nm. b, Mean SC–CA1 synapse density in WT and Nex-β1−/− mice at P21 and P42. Synapse density was reduced in Nex-β1−/− mice relative to WT at P42, but not at P21. Student's t test, p < 0.001. For P21, n = 30 sections, 2 mice for each genotype; P42 WT, n = 94 sections, 6 mice; P42 Nex-β1−/−, n = 51 sections, 3 mice. c, Measurement of dendritic spine head size at P21 and P42. Main effect of age on size, ANOVA (age by genotype) (F = 10.34; p = 0.0015). n = 53–78 spines per group, 2–3 mice. d, PSD length is unaltered in Nex-β1−/− mice. n = 80–160 measurements per group, 2–3 mice. e, Performance of P42 WT and Nex-β1−/− mice in an object recognition task. Time spent exploring two objects, one novel and one familiar, is quantified. WT mice spent more time exploring the novel object, but Nex-β1−/− mice showed no significant preference between the novel and familiar object. Genotype by object interaction, ANOVA (F(1,28) = 6.0; p = 0.02), Student's post hoc t tests, p < 0.05. n = 6–10 mice per group. f, Locomotor response to acute injection of 10 mg/kg cocaine. Cocaine sensitivity was heightened in Nex-β1−/− adult mice relative to WT. Student's t test, p < 0.001. n = 3–6 mice per group, >8 weeks of age. Values represent mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05 throughout.