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. 2021 Apr 30;15:671473. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2021.671473

Figure 5.

Figure 5

Chemogenetic activation of VTA-NAc pathway neurons facilitate emergence from sevoflurane anesthesia. (A) Schematic of the experimental protocol. Cre-dependent hM3Dq was injected into the VTA of mice, while retrograde cre was injected into the NAc. (B) Expression of hM3Dq-EGFP (green) and retrograde cre-mCherry (red) in the VTA and NAc showing dopaminergic projections from the VTA to the NAc in the mouse brain (above). Scale bars: 200 μm. Immunofluorescence of cre-mCherry (red) and TH (green) in the VTA (below) Scale bars: 100 μm. (C) Experimental timeline of the behavioral test and EEG recording. (D) CNO-mediated hM3Dq activation notably prolonged the LORR time. (E) CNO-mediated activation significantly shortened the RORR time. (F) CNO-mediated hM3Dq activation decreased δ bands and enhanced γ bands during the LORR process. (G) CNO-mediated hM3Dq activation decreased δ bands and enhanced γ bands during the RORR process. (H,I) Representative EEG traces and heat map from the two groups. CNO: clozapine N-oxide. Data are presented as the mean ± SD. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001, n = 8, by paired and unpaired paired t-test.