Figure 5: Chemogenetic inhibition of the mPFC projections to the LC affects differently the behavior of male and female mice subjected to inflammatory pain.

A) The CNO treatment increased the time spent in the open quadrants of the O-Maze in female mice, Post-hoc analysis: * - control females vs. CNO females, P < 0.05 and * - control males vs. CNO females, P < 0.05. B) shows the reduced number of correct alternations in female mice after CNO treatment, Post-hoc analysis: ** - control females vs. CFA females, P < 0.01; ** - control females vs. CFA males, P < 0.01 and * - control males vs. control females, P < 0.05. C) the panel compares the preference for the novel object after CNO treatment, where males show an increased preference for the novel object but female’s preference for the novel object remained unaltered, Post-hoc analysis: * - control males vs. CFA males, P < 0.05. D) shows the effect of CNO treatment on the puzzle test performance, where the CNO treatment produced a noticeable sex versus CNO interaction but the post-hoc analysis did not detect statistically significant changes in the latency to remove the obstacle in any group. E) the panel compares c-Fos expression in the LC after CNO injection between male and female mice, Post-hoc analysis: * - control males vs. control females, P < 0.05; *** - control males vs. CFA males, P < 0.001; ** - control females vs. CFA females, P < 0.01 and *** - CNO males vs. CNO females, P < 0.001. Data expressed as mean ± SEM.