Experimental time line and illustration of viral transfection. (A) Rats received recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAVV) injections with either growth hormone (GH), antagonizing GH (aGH), or green fluorescent protein (GFP) only (control). After three weeks of virus incubation, behavioral assessments began. (B) Injection sites in dorsal hippocampus are shown by GFP labeling in a representative animal (GH) in coronal sections of the right hemisphere at different anteroposterior levels. Scale bar 200 µm. (C) Representative distribution of GFP labeled cells in the hippocampus of a GH, aGH, and control animal. The GFP labeling showed transfected cells in CA1, but also some in CA3 and DG. Left panel in C is a close-up from the most posterior section in B (orange frame). Scale bar 50 µm.
