Table 2. Studies evaluating the effect of stress on stroke recovery in animals.
Author/Year | Species | No. of animals | Stroke model | Stressor | When initiated | Frequency | Estimated Cohen's da for stroke versus stroke+stress | Duration (minutes) | Conclusion |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Faraji et al40 | Rat | 27 | Endothelin-1 (ET-1) induced mini stroke- hippocampus | Restraintb | 4-5 days poststroke | Daily for 15 days | Memory test d=1.73 | 60 | Stress and corticosterone reduced the severity of memory impairment and anatomic pathology produced by hippocampal mini stroke. |
Faraji et al41 | Rat | 50 | ET-1 induced mini stroke in the hippocampus | Restraint | 4-5 days poststroke | Daily for 21 days | d=Insufficient details provided | 60 | Repeated restraint stress enhanced spatial cognition recovery in rats after focal stroke in the hippocampus. |
Faraji et al42 | Rat | 22 | ET-1 induced mini stroke in the hippocampus | Restraint | 2-3 days post stroke | Daily for 21 days | Reaching d=4.30 | 60 | Focal stroke in the ventrolateral striatum, and restraint stress acted synergistically to impair motor but not spatial performance in rats. |
Jin et al43 | Rat | 60 | Photothrombotic ischemic injury in the sensorimotor cortex | Restraint | 1 day poststroke | Daily for 5 days | Beam walking d=3.31 | 120 | Stress after stroke led to increased infarct volume, increased apoptotic cell death, and poorer functional recovery. |
Kirkland et al44 | Rat | 78 | Devascularization lesion of the motor cortex | Restraint | Prestress group-15 days prestroke, Post stress gp- 1 day poststroke | Daily for 15 days | Reaching d=1.87 | 20 | Chronic restraint stress before or after stroke, impaired motor recovery and compensation, poststroke stress increased infarct size and edema in rats. |
Kirkland et al45 | Rat | 32 | Devascularization lesion of the motor cortex | Restraint | 1 day poststroke | Daily for 15 days | Reaching d=1.59 | 20 | Chronic stress and corticosterone treatment impaired motor skill recovery and promoted compensatory movement strategies in a task-specific manner. |
Merrett et al46 | Rat | 29 | Devascularization lesion of the motor cortex | Restraint | 7 days prestroke | Daily for 28 days | Reaching d=1.29 | 20 | Stress reduced motor function recovery after stroke in rats, with aged rats displaying greater functional impairment. |
Wang et al89 | Rat | 30 | Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) | Chronic mild stress (CMS)- food and water deprivation, 45° cage tilt, overnight illumination, soiled cage, swimming in 4°C water, foot shock, tail pinch, paired caging. | Poststroke time not specified | Day and night for 18 days | Cell survival in dentate gyrus d=11.38 | Variable | CMS induced depressive behaviors in rats subjected to stroke and this was accompanied by reduced neurogenesis and altered neurogenic fate by increasing the differentiation of neural progenitor cells to glial lineage cells. |
Zucchi et al48 | Rat | 59 | Devascularization lesion of the motor cortex | Restraint/variable (restraint, overcrowding, forced swimming, foot shock, saline injection, shaking, fox odor, social isolation). | 7 days pre stroke | Daily for 21 days | Reaching d=0.62 | 20 | Predictable restraint stress led to more pronounced motor impairments than unpredictable variable stress in skilled motor tasks before and after stroke. |
Zucchi et al47 | Rat | 22 | Devascularization lesion of the motor cortex | Restraint | 7 days pre stroke | Daily for 28 days | Reaching d=1.10 | 20 | Stress induced greater impairment and diminished recovery of motor function, which was related to increased glucocorticoid receptor activation in a rat model. |
Where data (means and s.d.) necessary for the calculation of Cohen's d were not explicitly reported in text, they were estimated from the figures provided in the manuscript.
Restraint involved animals being placed in a transparent Plexiglass tube (5 to 7.5 cm diameter).