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. 2023 Jan 31;26(3):106093. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106093

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Prenatal treatment with 0.2ppm MeHg causes ASD-like behaviour in young adult mice

(A) Schematic of prenatal exposure to MeHg in pregnant mice, created with BioRender.com. 0ppm (control) and 0.2ppm MeHg was administered through drinking water to pregnant mice starting at E0 until birth. (B–D) USV analysis was conducted on P7 and P9 pups.

(B) Representative spectrograms of P9 control and MeHg-treated pups.

(C and D) The total number of calls, n = 11 animals/group, Mann–Whitney U test, ∗p < 0.05, and (D) average call length per call was analyzed, n = 10 animals/group, Student’s t test, ∗p < 0.05.

(E and F) The Marble Burying test assessed the number of marbles buried after 30 min interaction time. (E) Representative images for both control and 0.2ppm MeHg. (F) Quantitative analysis of number of marbles buried in the cage. n = 9–15 animals/group, Student’s t test, ∗∗p < 0.01.

(G) The adult social interaction test assessed the amount of time that testing mice spent in the interaction zone with either an empty wire-mesh cage or the cage with a novel mouse of the same strain, sex, age.

(H) The time spent in interaction zone for female mice, n = 12 animals/group, Student’s t test, ∗∗p < 0.01, ns (non-significant).

(I and J) Acquisition of the initial platform location in the MWM task was performed across 4 days of training with latency to reach the platform as a measurement of learning. n = 15–16 animals/group.

(K and L) After acquisition, the platform was removed at day 11, and mice were given a 60 s probe trial. (K) Representative heat maps from each group shown in L. (L) The percentage of time spent in the target quadrant between control and 0.2ppm MeHg was analyzed as a measurement of memory. n = 15–16 animals/group, Student’s t test, ns (non-significant).

(M and N) Following the probe, the platform was moved to the opposite quadrant. Acquisition of the new platform location in the MWM task was performed across 2 days of training with latency to reach the platform as a measurement of learning. n = 15 animals/group.

(O and P) After acquisition, the platform was removed at day 14, and mice were given a 60-s probe trial. (O) Representative heat maps from each group shown in P. (P) The percentage of time spent in the new target quadrant and old target quadrant was analyzed as a measurement of reversal memory. n = 15 animals/group, Student’s t test, ∗p < 0.05, ns (non-significant). Error bars indicate the standard error of the mean (SEM). See also Figure S1.