title: Electroacupuncture accelerated the expression of c-Fos protooncogene in dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area of the rat.
abstract: The mesolimbic dopaminergic system has been implicated in mediating morphine and electroacupuncture analgesia. In the present study, Fos immunoreactivity was used as a marker of neuronal activity to investigate if electroacupuncture could activate the dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain. Electroacupuncture stimulation significantly increased the number of Fos-positive dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), whereas no significant c-fos expression in the dopaminergic neurons was observed in the substantia nigra (SN). These results indicate that the VTA rather than the SN may play a role in mediating electroacupuncture analgesia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Beijing Medical University, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Q P
authors.initials: QP
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D015667:Acupuncture Analgesia; D000818:Animals; D004298:Dopamine / Q000276:immunology; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000276:immunology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000276:immunology; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000276:immunology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000276:immunology; D017557:Ventral Tegmental Area / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D004298:Dopamine