Fig. 1

Effects of pioglitazone at different doses on CMS mice. a Schematic diagram of the experimental design. BW was measured every week (b). The 2.5 mg/kg dose showed the best result in recovering the BW in the CMS mice (c, n = 10). Anhedonia was detected by SP over the course of the 6-week-long experiment (d, e, n = 10). The duration of immobility in the FST (f) and TST (g) increased after CMS induction at the sixth week (n = 8 in both tests). Pioglitazone (2.5 mg/kg) reduced this increase. In the locomotor activity test, pioglitazone improved the spontaneous activity level after CMS induction (h, n = 8). ^* p < 0.05, ^{* *} p < 0.01 vs. Control; ^# p < 0.05, ^## p < 0.01 vs. CMS + Vehicle. Data are expressed as means ± SEM