Maad Rayan Publishing Company Biomedical Research Bulletin 2980-9924 3 3 2025 09 29 Effect of Intracerebral Hemorrhage on Anxiety and Depression-Like Behavior and Amygdala Glial Changes and Cell Death 114 123 10.34172/biomedrb.9072 EN Mona Riyahi Rad Shima Shirzad Atiyeh Ghorbani Reyhane Vardiyan Zahra Akhoond-Ali Mohamad Gharehbaghi Fatemeh Forouzanfar Ali Nakhaei https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9411-2846 Hossein Akhtar Alireza Rahimi Arman Abroumand Gholami Azim Zaeimbashi Farzaneh Vafaee Journal Article 10.34172/biomedrb.9072 2025 08 08 2025 09 05 Introduction: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a cerebrovascular disease with a high mortality and morbidity rate. The study aimed to investigate the relationship between amygdala and striatum changes and neuronal and glial changes post-stroke, as over two-thirds of stroke patients experience depression and anxiety. Methods: The study involved 48 male Wistar rats, divided into six groups, including three sham (sham-7, sham-14, and sham-21) and three ICH (ICH-7, ICH-14, and ICH-21) groups. Behavior tests, such as the elevated maze test (EMT), open field test (OFT), and forced swimming test (FST), were used on the 7th, 14th, and 21st days following surgery. Next, the stereology technique was utilized to assess the neuronal density. Finally, the immunohistochemistry method was employed to evaluate alterations in astrocytes. Results: The results indicated that the immobility time, according to FST, was significantly increased on the 21st day after ICH induction. Although the active time in this group decreased compared to the sham-21 group, based on the EMT, the time spent in the closed arm in the ICH-14 and ICH-21 groups had a significant upward trend. According to OFT, central crossing in the ICH-21 group demonstrated a considerable decrease. Nonetheless, neuronal density in the amygdala area displayed no significant differences between the groups. Eventually, glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive cells in the ICH-7 and ICH-21 groups were increased in the ipsilateral amygdala. Conclusion: The results revealed that anxiety and depression behaviors occur 21 days after unilateral ICH is created in the striatum, possibly because the striatum-to-amygdala pathways are affected.