Abstract
Acupuncture has been an effective treatment for various pain in China for several thousand years. However, the mechanisms underlying this mysterious ancient healing are still largely unknown. Here we applied photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) to investigate brain hemodynamic changes in response to electronic acupuncture (EA) at ST36 (Zusanli). Due to the high optical absorption of blood at 532nm, PAM could sensitively probe changes in hemoglobin concentration (HbT, i.e., cerebral blood volume [CBV]) of cortical regions in high resolution. Six healthy mice were stimulated at the acupoint and three healthy mice were stimulated at sham points. Remarkable CBV changes in sensorimotor and retrosplenial agranular cortex were observed. Results showed the potential of PAM as a visualization tool to study the acupuncture effect on brain hemodynamics in animal models. (a) Schematic showing the stimulation points. (b) B-scan images overlaid with mouse atlas. (c) & (d) Statistical results of CBV changes from cortical regions.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
