Photothrombotic lesion in left medial prefrontal cortex in adult rats: a suitable model for the study of post-stroke depression?

OBJECTIVE

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, often resulting in post-stroke depression (PSD), a common neuropsychiatric consequence affecting survivors' quality of life. This study aimed to determine whether the photothrombotic lesion technique is a suitable model for studying PSD.

METHODS

The photothrombotic lesion method could effectively induce a depression-like phenotype in rats, facilitating the study of PSD without causing significant motor deficits. An ischemic lesion was induced in the left medial prefrontal cortex of 43 male Wistar rats. Depression-like behavior was assessed using the sucrose preference test and the forced swim test (FST) at 14- and 30-days post-stroke (DPS), respectively. The beam walking test (BWT) was used to evaluate motor function at 30 DPS.

RESULTS

Stroke rats showed reduced sucrose preference at 14 DPS, indicating anhedonia. However, no significant differences were observed in the FST or BWT at 30 days.

CONCLUSIONS

The photothrombotic lesion model showed potential for studying PSD, but the behavioral results were inconclusive. Future research should include depression biomarkers to better assess the model's validity.