Fig. 3

Body weight and behavioral tests for each group. a There was a significant difference in weight gain between the vehicle group and the voluntary exercise group from day − 7 to day 0 after MCAO. Comparing day 0 and day 1 after MCAO, body weight was decreased in all groups at day 1. ANOVA revealed a significant treatment effect with significant difference in weight loss between the voluntary exercise group (Ex and SB623 + Ex groups) and the no-exercise group (vehicle and SB623 groups) at day 1 after MCAO (F_{(3, 31)} = 8.7, p < 0.001 at day 1) (mean ± SE, ^*p < 0.05 vs. vehicle group). Body weight decreased from day 1 to day 7, and increased from day 8 to day 14 in all groups. b ANOVA revealed significant treatment effects, of the Ex, SB623, and SB623 + Ex groups, respectively, in mNSS at later time points after MCAO, which significantly improved compared to that of vehicle group at day 7 and day 14 after MCAO (F_{(3, 31)} = 7.07, p < 0.001 at day 7, F_{(3, 31)} = 10.80, p < 0.001 at day 14) (mean ± SE, ^*p < 0.05 vs. vehicle group). c The graph shows the results of contralateral bias in the cylinder test (vehicle group: n = 6; Ex group: n = 7; SB623 group: n = 5; SB623 + Ex group: n = 8). ANOVA revealed that there were no significant treatment effects in cylinder test from all four groups (F_{(3, 22)} = 1.42, p = 0.26). Abbreviation: MCAO: middle cerebral artery occlusion