This protocol describes a new model by which healthy rats could contract depression over a given time periodthrough contagion by exposure to chronic unpredictable stressed (CUS) rats.
Here we present a protocol to induce post-stroke depression in rats by occluding the middle cerebral artery via the internal carotid artery. We use the Porsolt forced swim test and the sucrose preference test to confirm and evaluate induced depressive moods.
The protocol presented here shows a technique to create a rodent model of brain injury. The method described here uses laser irradiation and targets motor cortex.
This protocol describes a novel technique of measuring the three most important parameters of ischemic brain injury on the same set of rodent brain samples. Using only one brain sample is highly advantageous in terms of ethical and economic costs.
This protocol describes a method of examining social hierarchy in a rat model. Rats perform a complex diving-for-food task in which they form a distinct hierarchy according to their willingness to dive underwater and swim to obtain a food pellet. This method is used to understand decision making and social relationships among highly social animals in small groups.
The present protocol describes a rat model of fluid percussion-induced traumatic brain injury followed by a series of behavioral tests to understand the development of dominant and submissive behavior. Using this model of traumatic brain injury in conjunction with specific behavioral tests enables the study of social impairments following brain injury.