Fig. 1

Schematic brain section and the experiment timeline. A Schematic coronal brain section of the parietal cortex region where immunohistochemistry staining was done; the black arrows indicate the area where the micrographic picture was taken and analyzed. B the timeline illustrates the experimental procedures across 9 months of the study; the Animals were separated into four groups: SBN/y^(RD) and SBH/y^(RD), provided a regular rat diet (RD), SBN/y^(HSD), and SBH/y^(HSD) provided a high salt diet (HSD). Blood pressure was measured at 4 points: 1, 3, 6, and 9 months after initiation of RD or HSD. Animals were sacrificed at three time points: baseline, 6 months, and 9 months on RD or HSD. B MAP of the four groups (N = 4–17, per group). Mean ± SEM. One-way ANOVA was followed by Tukey’s multiple comparison test. ^***P < 0.001, SBH/y + vs other groups