THBS1 and stroke disorder: Based on the hypothesis that pharmacological blockade of thrombospondin-1 signalling could enhance axon growth, we investigated the effects of pregabalin, an antagonist of the thrombospondin-1 receptor α2δ1/2.16 We induced focal cortical stroke in the forelimb area of the M1 primary motor cortex and mapped anterograde and retrograde connections after stroke (Fig. 2A) as described.4 In short, we treated mice systemically with pregabalin or vehicle for 5 weeks after stroke (Fig. 2B).