Fig. 3

Treadmill stepping with icilin stimulation does not change the number of c-fos⁺ MNs, but modulates the soma size of c-fos⁺ MNs. Quantitative results of c-fos⁺ ChAT-labeled MNs in immunostained images of the spinal cord are shown. The number of c-fos⁺ MN per section is shown for (a). Treadmill stepping with icilin stimulation modulates the soma size of c-fos⁺ MNs. The distribution of the c-fos⁺ MNs with respect to their soma sizes (µm²) is shown for the stepping groups (b). The average soma size of the total c-fos⁺ MNs and the percentage of large soma size (≥ 1000 µm²) of the c-fos⁺ MNs are shown in (c) and (d), respectively. Each symbol represents an individual mouse. The horizontal lines indicate the mean values. Compared with the Sed group, ^†p < 0.01; compared with Sed + icilin group, ^‡p < 0.01; compared with low-speed stp group, ^§p < 0.05, ^¶p < 0.01. Data are represented as the mean ± SD