Fig. 2

Ex4 treatment in overnight food-restricted rats leads to a larger reduction in food-motivated behavior in females than males. After overnight food restriction, central Ex4 treatment reduced sucrose rewards earned in both males and females (a), an effect that was larger in females (b). Active lever presses were significantly reduced by Ex4 treatment in female subjects; a trend for reduction was present in male subjects but it did not reach statistical significance (c). Lever presses after Ex4 treatment in males and females analyzed as percent of vehicle treatment also revealed a significantly larger reduction in female subjects (d). Peanut butter consumption was significantly reduced in both sexes (e) with a slightly larger response to Ex4 in females (f). Twenty-four hour chow consumption was reduced in both males and females after GLP-1R agonist injection (g); no significant differences were found in chow intake between the two sexes (h). Chow and peanut butter consumption are displayed in grams. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM. n = 10 (females) and 9 (males) per treatment group. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001