Figure 5.

AIE increases submissive responses in the tube dominance test. (a) Timeline of tube dominance testing paradigm. Rats underwent AIE or CON gavage paradigms from PND 25–54. The tube dominance test was conducted later in adulthood (7–8 months of age). Males were tested first, followed by females. (b) Rats were placed on either side of a clear plexiglass tube and separated by removable gates. The test began when both rats were waiting at the gates, and the gates were removed. The test ended when one rat pushed the other out of the tube. Winning was scored as a binary win-lose. (c) Male rats exposed to AIE were more submissive on the initial test day, although this effect was transient where AIE males were more likely to win encounters by the fourth test day. In contrast, female rats exposed to AIE were increasingly more submissive with each test. Results are expressed as mean ± SEM. * p < 0.05.