Fig. 3

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) improves fear memory after middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion (MCAO/R). From day 5 to day 16 post-surgery, rats in the Sham (n = 12), MCAO/R (n = 11), and MCAO/R+VNS (n = 6) groups were tested in the shuttle box and avoidance conditioned response rates (a), durations of shocks (b), and avoidance latencies were recorded (c). *,^#Indicates significant differences (p < 0.05) between the MCAO/R and Sham groups and between the MCAO/R and MCAO/R+VNS groups, respectively