Figure 5. The pro-recovery effect of optogenetic cLCN stimulation is persistent.

(a) Experimental design: Mice were pre-trained (H) on the rotating beam test prior to collecting pre-implant baseline (B) and pre-stroke baseline data (B) (Day 0). Optogenetic neuronal stimulations began at post-stroke Day 5 and continued until Day 14 (short stim group) or Day 28 (long stim group). Behavior tests were performed at post-stroke Days 4, 7, 14, 21, and 28. Mice were sacrificed at post-stroke Day 29 for histological analysis. (b) Both cLCN short stim and long stim stroke mice exhibited significant recovery by traveling longer distances and faster speeds (c). Note that the short stim group exhibit persistent recovery after Day 14 even when stimulations had stopped. Additional stimulations in the long stim group did not further enhance recovery. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, Two-way ANOVA with Bonferroni’s post hoc test indicates a significant difference between the short stim and no stim groups, ^ϕP < 0.01, ^ϕϕP < 0.01, ^ϕϕϕP < 0.001 indicates a significant difference between long stim and no stim group. n = 4 for stroke + no stim, n = 5 for stroke + short stim, n = 4 for stroke + long stim. Data are expressed as mean ± s.e.m.