Fig. 3

Anxiety, startle response, and PPI assessment in Gde2KO mice. A–D Analysis of anxiety phenotype in OF test. A, B Total percent distance traveled in the center of OF setup (A) and its dynamics (B) at 7 months. No effect of genotype or its interactions were detected (three-way mixed design ANOVA, P > 0.05). C, D The same measurements and analysis as in A and B, respectively, for 16-month-old mice (ANOVA, P > 0.05). E, F Total percent distance traveled in the open arms of the plus maze (E) and its dynamics (F) at 7 months. No effect of genotype or its interactions were detected (ANOVA, Ps > 0.05). G Schematic of PPI task setup (left) and illustration of prepulse and pulse stimulus delivery above the corresponding startle response (middle and right). H–J Combined startle response (H) and the dynamics separated by males (I) and females (J) when the 120 dB pulse stimulus was delivered. Gde2KO mice had lower startle amplitude than WT mice (ANOVA, effect of genotype F(1,70) = 12.02, P < 0.0009). Male Gde2KO mice showed the most notable startle response decrease at the start of the test (Fisher LSD post-hoc P < 0.05). (K-M) Mean %PPI for all prepulse levels (K) and %PPI at each prepulse stimulus intensity are shown for males (L) and females (M). The three-way mixed design ANOVA test revealed a significant effect of genotype × sex interaction (F(1,70) = 6.09, P < 0.02), with female Gde2KO mice having significantly lower %PPI (Fisher LSD post-hoc P < 0.05). All graphs are means ± SEM; ns, P > 0.05; *P < 0.05, and ***P < 0.001. See Additional file 2: Table S1 for statistical details. Schematic in G created in BioRender.com