Fig. 1

Long-term atorvastatin intervention improves cognitive function in naturally ageing rats (A) Brief experimental procedure and use of rats (B) Y-maze experiment testing the spontaneous rotation behaviour (SRB) score of three groups (n = 10 per group). (C) Novel object recognition experiment testing the recognition index (RI) of three groups (n = 10 per group). (D) Morris water maze, part one: a five-day positioning cruise experiment in three groups (n = 10 per group). (E and F) Morris water maze, part two: space exploration experiment testing crossing times and first quadrant dwell time of three groups (n = 10 per group). (G-I) Morris water maze experiment recording the swimming trajectory graphs of three groups (n = 10 per group). Data are presented as the mean ± SEM. Statistical analyses were performed using a repeated-measure ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons test (B, C, D) or a one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparison test (E and F). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001. C: control group, L: low-dose atorvastatin group, H: high-dose atorvastatin group