Figure 2: Reducing Ca²⁺-dependent signaling in striatal astrocytes increased self-grooming.

(A) Representative track traces of locomotor activity in open-field tests of control and hPMCA2w/b-expressing mice over 10 min. hPMCA2w/b mice spent extended periods in the corners (arrow). (B,C) Travel distance (B) and time spent in the center (C) were decreased in hPMCA2w/b mice. Graphs tracking open-field activity over time were assessed with two-way ANOVA tests. The comparisons between bar graphs were with Student’s t tests or Mann-Whitney tests. (D) Representative track traces of locomotor activity in the elevated plus maze for control and hPMCA2w/b mice. (E-G) Average data for zone entries (E), time in different zones (F) and the total travel distance (G) between control and hPMCA2w/b mice. (H) Images of non-grooming and self-grooming behaviors. (I) Behavioral traces of control and hPMCA2w/b-expressing mice for times in self-grooming and non-grooming episodes. (J-K) The number of self-grooming bouts (K) and duration in seconds per minute of self-grooming (J) in hPMCA2w/b and control mice (Student’s t tests). (L-O) Grooming evoked by spraying the mice with water for controls and hPMCA2w/b: dwell times (M), average duration (N) and number of bouts (O). The average data are shown as mean ± SEM. In some cases, the SEM bars are smaller than the symbol used to represent the mean.