Electroacupuncture alters catecholamines in brain regions of rats.
Electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation mediated the release of [3H]norepinephrine (NE) from synaptosomes prelabeled with [3H]NE. The pulse release of [3H]NE by EA stimulation was dependent on the presence of Ca2+. Treatment of rats with EA for 30 min at 4 Hz did not significantly alter the dopamine (DA) content in hypothalamus, cerebellum, pons, midbrain, and cerebral cortex regions, but the DA level was decreased by 20% in caudate nucleus. The NE level was found to increase by 43% in caudate nucleus and 38% in hypothalamus. The results indicate that only certain neuronal pathways are affected by the EA treatment, and that NE and DA may respond differently to such stimulation.
D015670:Acupuncture Therapy; D000818:Animals; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002421:Caudate Nucleus / Q000032:analysis; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000032:analysis; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000032:analysis; D004298:Dopamine / Q000032:analysis*; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000032:analysis; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000032:analysis; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D013574:Synaptosomes / Q000378:metabolism
D004298:Dopamine; D009638:Norepinephrine