Korean Journal of Acupuncture

Society for Meridian and Acupoint (경락경혈학회)
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Effects of HT7 Acupuncture on c-Eos Expression in Limbic System of the Brain in Maternally-Separated Rats

신문혈(神門穴) 침자극(鍼刺戟)이 모성분리(母性分離) 흰쥐의 대뇌(大腦) 변연계(邊緣系)의 c-Fos 발현(發顯)에 미치는 영향(影響)

  • Lim, Sabina (Dept. of Meridian & Acupoint, College of Oriental Medicine, KyungHee University) ;
  • Hwang, Se-Hee (Dept. of Meridian & Acupoint, College of Oriental Medicine, KyungHee University) ;
  • Ryu, Yeun-Hee (Dept. of Meridian & Acupoint, College of Oriental Medicine, KyungHee University) ;
  • Lee, Hye-Jung (Dept. of Oriental Medical Science, Graduate School of East-West Medical Science, KyungHee University) ;
  • Park, Hi-Joon (Dept. of Meridian & Acupoint, College of Oriental Medicine, KyungHee University)
  • 임사비나 (경희대학교 한의과대학 경혈학교실) ;
  • 황세희 (경희대학교 한의과대학 경혈학교실) ;
  • 류연희 (경희대학교 한의과대학 경혈학교실) ;
  • 이혜정 (경희대학교 동서의학대학원 한의과학과) ;
  • 박히준 (경희대학교 한의과대학 경혈학교실)
  • Published : 2004.09.27
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Abstract

Acupuncture has been shown to have therapeutic effects on many mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse in human and animal studies. Maternal separation (MS) is a risk factor in the development of mood-related disorders such as depression. This study investigated the effects of acupuncture during MS by evaluating locomotion as behavioral markers of depression and by observing changes in c-Fos expression in the limbic system (hippocampus, amygdala and cingulate cortex) to elucidate the mechanism of the therapeutic effect. The employed acupoint, Shinmun (HT7), has been clinically used to treat mental disorders. MS for 7 days beginning on postnatal day 14 induced a significant decrease in locomotion, while acupuncture treatment at acupoint HT7 resulted in a significant increase in locomotion. c-Fos immunoreactive cells in area dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus were increased in the MS group, but significantly decreased in the acupuncture group. These findings suggest that acupuncture has an effect on the depression-like disorder caused by MS, possibly by modulating c-Fos expression in DC of the hippocampus.

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