Table 3: Study 2 results for c-Fos cell density in six brain regions after a high (Clinical) or low (Milk) dose of oral oxytocin (OXT) versus saline and whisker brushing in postnatal day (P) 14 and P21 male and female OXTR:EGFP mice.
Average c-Fos cell density is expressed as mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM). Main and interaction effects p – values are from multivariate mixed model analyses on mean c – Fos densities and effect sizes are expressed in parentheses as partial eta squared values. Bold font emphasizes statistical significance. Post-hoc results are Bonferroni corrected for multiple comparisons. * = significance did not survive Bonferroni corrected post-hoc test. T = treatment; S = sex; A = age; PVN = paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus
| Study 2 c- Fos |
Mean ± SEM | p-value (ηp2) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Treat ment |
Sex | Age | T × S | T × A | A × S |
T × S × A |
post hoc | |||
| P14 | P21 | P14 | P21 | |||||||||
| PVN | ||||||||||||
| Saline | 118 ± 21 | 621 ±104 | 135 ± 30 | 538 ± 140 | 0.26 (0.07) |
0.05 (0.06) |
0.00
(0.45) |
0.04* (0.08) |
0.46 (0.02) |
0.12 (0.03) |
0.18 (0.04) |
P14 < P21 ♂ > ♀ |
| Milk | 141 ± 38 | 439 ± 63 | 139 ± 32 | 471 ± 106 | ||||||||
| Clinical | 217 ± 55 | 873 ± 157 | 138 ± 12 | 371 ± 110 | ||||||||
| Trigeminal sensory | ||||||||||||
| Saline | 202 ± 54 | 47 ± 13 | 122 ± 20 | 47 ± 162 | 0.40 (0.02) |
0.16 (0.02) |
0.00 (0.36) |
0.30 (0.03) |
0.34 (0.02) |
0.84 (0.00) |
0.03 (0.07) |
♂P14 saline > ♂P14 Milk P14 > P21 |
| Milk | 102 ± 19 | 62 ± 16 | 146 ± 25 | 31 ± 8 | ||||||||
| Clinical | 133 ± 10 | 66 ± 11 | 125 ± 27 | 37 ± 8 | ||||||||
| Trigeminal spinal | ||||||||||||
| Saline | 145 ± 28 | 42 ± 10 | 171 ± 24 | 45 ± 7 | 0.07 (0.06) |
0.15 (0.02) |
0.00 (0.59) |
0.57 (0.01) |
0.27 (0.03) |
0.06 (0.04) |
0.84 (0.00) |
P14 > P21 |
| Milk | 114 ± 14 | 42 ± 5 | 159 ± 17 | 41 ± 17 | ||||||||
| Clinical | 110 ± 11 | 43 ± 6 | 124 ± 21 | 29 ± 7 | ||||||||
| Trigeminal motor | ||||||||||||
| Saline | 40 ± 12 | 92 ± 35 | 106 ± 23 | 84 ± 22 | 0.60 (0.01) |
0.70 (0.00) |
0.04 (0.05) |
0.33 (0.03) |
0.69 (0.02) |
0.92 (0.00) |
0.05 (0.05) |
♀P14 saline > ♀P14 Milk & Clinical P14 < P21 |
| Milk | 63 ± 13 | 81 ± 23 | 30 ± 7 | 90 ± 29 | ||||||||
| Clinical | 70 ± 18 | 78 ± 21 | 54 ± 9 | 86 ± 25 | ||||||||
| Ventroposterior medial thalamus | ||||||||||||
| Saline | 83 ± 27 | 27 ± 15 | 64 ± 26 | 6 ± 3 |
0.02 (0.08) |
0.86 (0.00) |
0.00 (0.13) |
0.12 (0.04) |
0.08 (0.06) |
0.10 (0.03) |
0.54 (0.01) |
saline > Clinical P14 > P21 |
| Milk | 17 ± 7 | 27 ± 16 | 46 ± 14 | 14 ± 8 | ||||||||
| Clinical | 11 ± 3 | 5 ± 3 | 48 ± 19 | 3 ± 1 | ||||||||
| Barrel cortex | ||||||||||||
| Saline | 270 ± 47 | 121 ± 45 | 271 ± 35 | 29 ± 8 | 0.31 (0.03) |
0.11 (0.03) |
0.00 (0.54) |
0.83 (0.00) |
0.90 (0.00) |
0.33 (0.01) |
0.53 (0.01) |
P14 > P21 |
| Milk | 259 ± 35 | 93 ± 31 | 248 ± 35 | 60 ± 25 | ||||||||
| Clinical | 247 ± 23 | 51 ± 16 | 222 ± 46 | 33 ± 13 | ||||||||