Fig. 4

Effects of SPS in females are largely independent of ovarian hormones. a, b SPS had no effect on ASR or negative feedback control of CORT in females, regardless of gonadal hormone status. CORT levels were sensitive to ovarian hormones in vehicle-treated control females, with GDX significantly decreasing the CORT response to restraint stress. T did not reverse this effect. c SPS decreased GR expression in the PVN of sham females, an effect abolished by GDX, suggesting that ovarian hormones may increase the sensitivity of the PVN to stress. T treatment reduced GR expression overall in the PVN but did not restore the effect of SPS on this measure, suggesting that ovarian hormones regulate GR expression in the PVN via estrogen and/or progesterone receptors. d SPS decreased the latency to approach a novel rat in both sham and GDX females, indicating the effect of SPS on social interaction is independent of adult ovarian hormones. However, T treatment reduced the latency of control but not SPS females to approach a social target, such that the effect of SPS on this measure was no longer apparent. e SPS decreased sucrose preference in sham females, an effect abolished by GDX, implicating ovarian hormones in this female-specific response to SPS. Data was presented as mean ±SEM. Significance set at P < .05 for planned pairwise comparisons (Bonferroni). *, vs baseline same group; $, vs sham same group. See Additional file 5 for full statistics