Fig. 7

T. gondii infection altered social novelty recognition and caused anxiety-like symptoms. a Mice were tested once on day 60 after infection with T. gondii. A modified version of the Crawley’s sociability test was used. The duration of active contacts between the test mouse and the empty cup or the cup containing stranger mouse 1 is shown. n = 9–13 per group (control group: 5 males and 4 females; experimental group: 6 males and 7 females). b Duration of active contacts between the test mouse and stranger mouse 1 (familiar mouse) and stranger mouse 2 (novel mouse), n = 9–13 per group (control group: 5 males and 4 females; experimental group: 6 males and 7 females). c The total distance traveled, (d) the average velocity, and (e) the percentage of time spent in the corners and in the center (f) of the open field during the 5-min observation period were recorded. Mice were tested once at day 60 post T. gondii infection on the same day social behavior was measured. n = 6–10 per group (control group: 2 males and 4 females; experimental group: 3 males and 7 females). Data are shown as mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05