Animals underwent permanent focal ischemia by photothrombosis (PT) in the left hemisphere as previously described [12 (link), 35 (link)] or sham operation (same procedure as PT, but without illumination). During surgery, the body temperature of the animals was kept at 37 °C using a self-regulating heating pad. Briefly, isoflurane-anesthetized rats (2% in O2 under spontaneous ventilation) received intravenous injections of the photosensitive dye Rose Bengal (10 mg/ml, Sigma, USA) in the tail vein. The skin above the skull was incised, and the brain was illuminated through the exposed skull with cold light (KL 1500 LCD, Schott) for 15 min at a stereotactically defined position (0.5 mm laterally and +4/−4 mm anterior/posterior to bregma), producing an approximate irradiation area of 8 × 4 mm2. Incisions were sutured, and animals were allowed to awake from anesthesia while on a heating pad and returned to their home cages.
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