AE can significantly improve behavioral function, reduce depression levels, improve brain tissue damage and lesions, increase the number of brain tissue neurons, decrease the contents of AQP3, AQP4, AQP5, GFAP, and TRPV4 in the brain and brain tissue, and increase the protein expressions of BDNF and NTF3 in PSD rats. Here, AQP3 is linked to major depressive disorder.