Fig. 3

mbTBI alters exploratory and anxiety-related behavior in male rats but not in female rats. Open field test (A-E) and elevated plus maze (F-I) from male and female rats. (A, B) Bar graph represents the total duration (seconds) of time and frequency of entrances to center area of open field during acclimatization at 3 d pre-mbTBI (n = 7–12/group). C, D Bar graph represents the total duration (seconds) of time and frequency of entrances to center area of open field at 2 d post-mbTBI (n = 11–12/group). E Representative heatmap from open field test at 2 d post mbTBI from male and female groups. F Representative heatmap from elevated plus maze for a male mbTBI animal. G Latency to enter open arm (seconds), H total time spent in open arm (seconds) and I number of open arm entrances in elevated plus maze at 7 d post-mbTBI (n = 5–6/group). Data represented as Mean ± SEM. P ≤ 0.05 *, P ≤ 0.01 ** by Two-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post-hoc (A, B, C, D, E, G, H, I)