Experimental timeline for surgical procedures, lithium treatment, and behavioral testing.
Prior to surgery, mice were randomly assigned to three experimental groups (MnR Lesioned,
Sham Lesioned and Intact). Ten days following surgery, mice were tested in the open field
test (OF1) and then half of the mice were provided chow containing 4 g/kg LiCl (lithium
treated group), while the other half were provided with control chow (control group)
throughout the remainder of the experiment. The OF was conducted three times on successive
days (OF2, OF3 and OF4, days 31, 32 and 33 respectively), followed by the elevated plus
maze test (EPM), and the light dark box test (LDB). After the LDB mice were single housed
for 96h for habituation (48h, days 44 to 46) and then tested in saccharin preference (SP)
and stress-induced hyperthermia (SIH)