Fig. 1

Disruptive neural circuits in brainstem stroke. The brainstem infarction was confirmed by MRI (A) and HE staining (B) 24 h after stroke onset. Infarction is marked by red arrows. C AAV2/1 carrying mCherry gene was injected into the primary motor cortex (M1 area) 1 day after brainstem stroke onset, and brains were harvested 15 days post-stroke. D Seven brain sections from the virus injection site (section 1) to the caudal portion of infarction (section 7) were made and stained with DAPI. The fluorescence intensity of mCherry within the infarct lesion (section 6) was significantly lower than that in the corresponding area on the contralateral side. Infarction is marked by white arrows. L, left; R, right. N = 6, scale bar = 50 μm. E Histogram shows the mean gray value of fluorescence intensity in section 6 measured by Image J. P < 0.05, versus contralateral side, N = 6