Fig. 5

Autophagy deficiency at weaning period leads to behavioral abnormality. A Experimental design. On PND 21, the offspring of SD rats were intraperitoneally injected with 3 mg/kg 3-MA or saline for 7 consecutive days, and behavior testing was conducted on the PND 60. B 3-MA treatment decreased the expression of LC3-II. C, D 3-MA treatment at PND 21 led to increased anxiety-like behavior as indicated by reduced exploration of central area in the open field test (C) and reduced open arm exploration in elevate plus maze (D). E, F 3-MA treatment at PND 21 led to impaired memory, as indicated by reduced exploration in novel arm in Y maze test (E) and reduced exploration for novel object in novel object recognition test (F). G 3-MA treatment at PND 21 led to sensory gate function deficiency, as indicated by reduced inhibitory efficiency of pre-pulse. H 3-MA treatment at PND 21 led to impaired social communication, as indicated by reduced exploration time with Stranger 1 than empty cage in sociability test and preference for Stranger 1 than Stranger 2 in social novelty test. n = 10 for behavioral test for each group. *p ≤ 0.05, **p ≤ 0.01, ***p ≤ 0.001. Data are presented as mean ± SEM