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. 2022 Jun 29;12(7):860. doi: 10.3390/brainsci12070860

Figure 2.

Figure 2

LC-specific DOR overexpression blocks the effects of stress on anxiety-like behavior and LC firing. The experimental timeline is shown in (A). Rats were habituated to handling by the experimenter for 3 days but were naïve to the behavioral apparatus when testing began. Stressed rats overexpressing DORs in LC spent significantly more time in the open arms of the EPM than stressed rats expressing mCherry in LC (B). One week after stressor exposure, stressed rats spent significantly less time in the center of the OFT, but this effect was more prominent in rats expressing mCherry than rats overexpressing DORs in LC (C). Within the mCherry group, stress significantly increased LC firing rate. In addition, LC neurons from stressed mCherry rats fired significantly faster than those from control or stressed DOR-overexpressing rats (D). DOR overexpression was validated using RT-PCR (E). * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001; **** p < 0.0001; # main effect of stress, p = 0.0055.