Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase-Dependent Neurotoxic Kynurenine Metabolism Contributes to Poststroke Depression Induced in Mice by Ischemic Stroke along with Spatial Restraint Stress

Figure 1

Timeline of events in animal experiment. A mouse model of poststroke depression (PSD) was induced by combining the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) with spatial restraint stress. After a recovery period of 1 week after MCAO surgery, spatial restraint stress was performed on 14 consecutive days. During the 2 weeks of spatial restraint stress, the PSD mice were treated with either aripiprazole (1 mg/kg) or vehicle orally once per day. The body weight (appetite), sucrose preference test (anhedonia), and forced swim test (despair-like behavior) were conducted at 5, 7, and 9 weeks and the Morris water maze test at 10 weeks after completing MCAO and spatial restraint stress.