Figure 3.

egr1 mutants are less social with virtual stimuli than wt larvae. A, Biological motion-based social behavior was assayed by projecting dots of different sizes to dishes from below, while recording with an IR camera from above. B, Violin plots revealed significant differences for egr1 mutants in SI for dot sizes of 2.0, 4.0, and 8.0 mm at 14 dpf. N = 3 experiments, n = 75 animals *p < 0.05, HSD, wt (+/+, white), het (+/−, light gray), mut (−/−, dark gray). C, egr1 mutants exhibited social deficits at 16 and 18 dpf, shown for optimal dot size 4.0 mm (dot size with highest SI response). N = 3 experiments, n = 129 animals, and N = 3 experiments, n = 97 animals, *p < 0.05, HSD. Plots of average speed in pixels per second (D) and thigmotaxis index (E) during biological-motion based assays at 4.0 mm dot size revealed no general behavioral deficits for egr1 mutants. N = 3 experiments, n = 77 animals. F, Mutant predator avoidance responses were not significantly different from het and wt siblings across various stimulus sizes at 14 dpf. N = 3 experiments, n = 126 animals. G, Correlation plot of size (in pixels) and SI for 4 mm dot size at 14 dpf. N = 3 experiments, n = 75 animals. H, The differences in SI for 4.0 mm dot size in 14 and 16 dpf larvae (normalized to average 14 dpf wt SI) between mutants and wt/hets (+, white) are significant in both regular-sized and stunted larvae. n = 201 animals, *p < 0.05, HSD. Error bars are SEM. Animal numbers are presented on bars.