Impact of co-housing on anxiety- and depression-like behaviors in rats exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress

SD rats were randomly divided into control group, CUMS stress group, stress + normal co-housing group, stress + fluoxetine group, and stress + normal co-housing + fluoxetine group. The stress group received chronic unpredictable mild stress, the normal co-housing group was housed with normal rats, the fluoxetine group received fluoxetine during CUMS stimulation, and the combined intervention group received fluoxetine intervention during stimulation followed by co-housing intervention. Behavioral changes were assessed through sucrose preference test, forced swimming test, tail suspension test, and open field test. Gut microbiota composition was analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing.