Skip to main content
. 2022 Apr 20;110(8):1385–1399.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.01.012

Figure 3.

Figure 3

Nesting activates the peptidergic neurons of the Edinger-Westphal in virgin and pregnant mice

(A) Whole-brain iDISCO+ immunolabeling for Ucn1, with the EW nucleus highlighted in red. Volumes extracted of the EW locus show the distribution of Ucn1+ neurons along the rostro-caudal axis.

(B) Sections at the level of the EWcp nucleus, immunolabeled for Ucn1 and CART, and hybridized for cck, slc32a1 (vGat), slc17a6 (vGlut2), slc17a7 (vGlut1), slc17a8 (vGlut3), or cartpt (CART). Ucn1+ neurons of the EWcp nucleus co-express CART and CCK but no markers of fast neurotransmission (vGlut2 or vGat).

(C) Ucn1 and Fos immunolabeling in virgin and pregnant controls or nest builders. Fos expression is significantly increased in the EW region in pregnant nest builders (the area used for counting is indicated in the yellow square). Fos co-localization is significantly increased specifically in Ucn1+ neurons during nesting in pregnant nest builders, as well as in virgin nest builders but to a lesser extent. Scale bars are 250 (A), 50 (B), and 150 μm (C). ∗ P < 0.05, ∗∗ P < 0.01, ∗∗∗ P < 0.001. All data are presented as mean ± SEM. Unpaired Mann-Whitney ranked U test (C, middle panels) and Wald’s test with t-distribution (C, right panels). See also Video S2.