Figure 13.

Pharmacological blockade of ERK1 phosphorylation in Erk2 CKO mice does not additionally affect social behaviors. A–C, Treatment with the MEK inhibitor SL327 (30 mg/kg) reduces social behaviors in control mice, but does not additionally affect impaired social behaviors in Erk2 CKO mice. A, When SL327 in control mice are exposed to caged social and inanimate targets in the open field, the duration of interaction with the social target is significantly decreased compared with vehicle (n = 14 mice for each). On the other hand, there is no significant difference in the spent with the social target between SL327- and vehicle-treated Erk2 CKO mice (n = 14 mice for each). Percentage time is depicted in A–C. B, In the sociability test in the three-room chamber, SL327 reduces the time spent with the social target compared with vehicle in control mice. On the other hand, there is no significant difference in the time spent with the social target between SL327- and vehicle-treated Erk2 CKO mice. The same set of mice is used as in A. C, In the social novelty test, vehicle-treated controls show preference for the novel target, while SL327-treated control mice does not. Furthermore, SL327 in control mice reduces the time spent with the social target compared with vehicle. On the other hand, there is no significant difference in the time spent with the novel target between SL327- and vehicle-treated Erk2 CKO mice. The same set of mice is used as in A and B. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 compared with vehicle-injected control mice; ^#p < 0.05; ^###p < 0.001. N.S., Not significant.