Fig. 5

The role of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) in spatial memory is blocked by norepinephrine depletion. a Typical traces of water maze activity on day-1, day 7, and day 14 relative to surgery were recorded from the DSP-4+Sham (n = 7), DSP-4+MCAO/R (n = 8), and DSP-4+MCAO/R + VNS (n = 8) groups. Escape latencies (b), path lengths (c), and swimming speeds (d) were observed during training (day-5 to day-1) and post-surgery (day 7 and day 14). *Indicates a significant difference between the DSP-4+MCAO/R and Sham groups, while ^#Indicates a significant difference between DSP-4+MCAO/R+VNS and DSP-4+Sham groups. There was no difference between the DSP+MCAO/R and DSP-4+MCAO/R+VNS groups