Figure 1

Long-term behavioral effects of developmental exposure to CPF. A) Open field test on PND 70. Upper panel: Total distance moved throughout the 20 min: both sexes and both treatments showed the expected progressive decrease of locomotor activity. Lower panel: Time spent in the central area of the arena (an index of anxiety); data are mean values + SEM, (STD: n = 10; CPF: n = 9 in each sex group. B) Male social recognition test. CPF males showed a significant higher level of social investigation (total sniffing) towards mouse partners than STD mice. S1 session 1 (5-min exposure to a partner; S2 session 2 (5-min exposure to the same partner ); S3 session 3 (5-min exposure to a novel partner). Sessions are spaced by a 15-min intertrial interval (ITI). Data are mean values + SEM, (STD: n = 9; CPF: n = 9); C) Female social recognition test. Larger graph: CPF females show increased social investigation (total sniffing) only during S2. Smaller graph: number of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) emitted by the resident female during the test, showing a profile across sessions comparable to sniffing response. S1 session 1 (3-min exposure to a partner); S2 session 2 (3-min exposure to the same partner); S3 session 3 (3-min exposure to a novel partner). Sessions are spaced by a 45-min intertrial interval (ITI). Data are mean values + SEM, (social investigation, STD: n = 9; CPF: n = 9; USV, STD: n = 4; CPF: n = 6). * p < 0.05.