Fig. 3

Effects of prenatal VPA exposure at E12.5 on mRNA levels of Arc, c-Fos, and BDNF in the male and female mouse embryonic whole brain. Embryos were obtained from mothers treated with VPA (500 mg/kg, i.p.) or saline at E12.5, 1, 2, 6, and 12 h after the drug exposure. Whole brains were immediately removed from the embryos, and total RNA was extracted and subjected to real-time PCR analysis. a: Male; b: Female (left, Arc; middle, c-Fos; right, BDNF). The results, which are normalized to GAPDH mRNA levels, are expressed as % of saline-treated control, and are presented as means ± SEM (1 h, n = 4 from one VPA and two saline-treated dams; 2 h, n = 4 from three VPA and two saline-treated dams; 6 h, n = 4 from two VPA and two saline-treated dams; 12 h, n = 4 from two VPA and two saline-treated dams). ^* P < 0.05, ^** P < 0.01, ^*** P < 0.001, versus saline-treated control (two-way ANOVA followed by a post hoc Bonferroni’s multiple comparison test)