Figure 1.

Effects of HDACi treatment on behavioral response selection in the home cage. A.) Timeline for Experiment 1: Mice were treated with HDACi (N = 24) or water (N = 25) for 24 hours prior to the start of testing. Only mice that did not show pup-directed aggression were tested on day 2. B.) Males readily consume sodium butyrate-treated water. Average consumption (ml/day) is represented as Mean ± SEM *Significantly different from HDACi group, p<0.0001 C.) Probability of behavioral response to pups varied significantly by treatment (Fisher’s Exact Test, p = 0.02). All non-aggressive HDACi treated mice showed spontaneous caregiving behavior compared to 40% of control mice (Fisher’s Exact Test, p = 0.01). D.) Mean ± SEM latency to approach and contact a pup on the first test day did not vary by HDACi treatment. E.) HDACi treated males retrieved more pups than controls and all males showed experience-induced improvements in retrieval (Main effects of treatment and time). *Significantly different than control, planned comparison, p< 0.05, d = 1.22