Abstract
To investigate analgesic neural circuits activated by electroacupuncture (EA) at different sets of acupoints in the brain, goats were stimulated by EA at set of Baihui-Santai acupoints or set of Housanli acupoints for 30 min. The pain threshold was measured using the potassium iontophoresis method. The levels of c-Fos were determined with Streptavidin-Biotin Complex immunohistochemistry. The results showed pain threshold induced by EA at set of Baihui-Santai acupoints was 44.74% ± 4.56% higher than that by EA at set of Housanli acupoints (32.64% ± 5.04%). Compared with blank control, EA at two sets of acupoints increased c-Fos expression in the medial septal nucleus (MSN), the arcuate nucleus (ARC), the nucleus amygdala basalis (AB), the lateral habenula nucleus (HL), the ventrolateral periaqueductal grey (vlPAG), the locus coeruleus (LC), the nucleus raphe magnus (NRM), the pituitary gland, and spinal cord dorsal horn (SDH). Compared with EA at set of Housanli points, EA at set of Baihui-Santai points induced increased c-Fos expression in AB but decrease in MSN, the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, HL, and SDH. It suggests that ARC-PAG-NRM/LC-SDH and the hypothalamus-pituitary may be the common activated neural pathways taking part in EA-induced analgesia at the two sets of acupoints.
Highlights
Electroacupuncture (EA), a widely used version of acupuncture which provides a stimulating current to acupoints through acupuncture needles, is effective and quantifiable
The pain thresholds in goats treated with EA at the set of Baihui and Santai acupoints and at the set of bilateral Housanli acupoints increased by 44.74% ± 4.56% and 32.64% ± 5.04%, respectively, with the former significantly higher (p = 0.001) than the latter
Pain thresholds in goats receiving 60 Hz of EA at the set of Baihui and Santai acupoints and the set of bilateral Housanli acupoints for 30 min were increased by 44.74%±4.56% and 32.64%±5.04%, respectively, showing different analgesic effects induced by these two sets of acupoints
Summary
Electroacupuncture (EA), a widely used version of acupuncture which provides a stimulating current to acupoints through acupuncture needles, is effective and quantifiable. Because nuclei are linked to each other with their fibres and constitute a complex network, the function of a single nucleus or area cannot elucidate the neural mechanism underlying EAA. Chiu et al [13] found a tendency for the activation of painmodulation areas induced by EA at bilateral Hegu or Zusanli acupoints was prominent as compared with EA stimulation at bilateral Neiguan acupoints in rats through fMRI. It has been demonstrated that EA at different acupoints can elicit different fMRI-activated patterns in the human brain [14, 15]. These studies indicate that the central activated regions are acupoint-dependent. EAA-related neural circuitries activated by EA at different sets of acupoints are not clear yet
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