Figure 2.

Influence of chronic hM4Di-DREADD-mediated inhibition of CaMKIIα-positive forebrain neurons in the early postnatal or juvenile windows on weight and reflex development. A, Shown is a schematic for the experimental paradigm for vehicle (5% sucrose) or CNO (5 mg/kg) administration in the early postnatal window (P2 to P14) in CaMKIIα-tTA::TRE-hM4Di bigenic pups. Pups were assessed for weight gain across the postnatal developmental window and for reflex behaviors on postnatal days 9 and 12. B, No significant change was observed in the weight profile of CNO-administered pups compared with their vehicle-treated age-matched controls across the duration of CNO treatment from P2 to P14 (n = 6). C–E, Reflex behaviors were not altered in PNCNO-treated CaMKIIα-tTA::TRE-hM4Di bigenic pups compared with vehicle-treated controls at P9 or P12 as assessed by determining the number of correct landings for air righting (C), and the time taken for reorientation in both negative geotaxis (D) and surface righting (E) assays. F, Shown is a schematic for the experimental paradigm for vehicle (5% sucrose) or CNO (5 mg/kg) administration in the early juvenile window (P28 to P40) to CaMKIIα-tTA::TRE-hM4Di bigenic male mice. G, No significant change was noted in the weight profile of animals fed with CNO (5 mg/kg) once daily from P28 to P40 compared with their vehicle-treated controls across the duration of drug treatment (n = 5–6/group). Results are expressed as the mean ± SEM, and groups are compared using the two-tailed, unpaired Student’s t test.