Acupuncture-mediated inhibition of ethanol-induced dopamine release in the rat nucleus accumbens through the GABAB receptor.
Clinical trials are currently underway to determine the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of drug abuse. However, there are still many unanswered questions about the basic mechanisms of acupuncture. Studies have shown that the GABA(B) receptor system may play a significant modulatory role in the mesolimbic system in drug abuse, including ethanol. The in vivo microdialysis study was designed to investigate the effect of acupuncture on acute ethanol-induced dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens and the potential role of the GABA(B) receptor system in acupuncture. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were administered with the highly selective GABA(B) antagonist SCH 50911 (3 mg/kg, i.p.) 1h prior to an intraperitoneal injection of ethanol (1 g/kg). Immediately after ethanol treatment, acupuncture was given at bilateral Shenmen (HT7) points for 1min. Acupuncture at the specific acupoint HT7, but not at control points (PC6 or tail) significantly decreased dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. Inhibition of dopamine release by acupuncture was completely prevented by SCH 50911. These results suggest that stimulation of specific acupoints inhibits ethanol-induced dopamine release by modulating GABA(B) activity and imply that acupuncture may be effective in blocking the reinforcing effects of ethanol.
Department of Physiology, College of Oriental Medicine, Daegu Haany University, Daegu 706-828, South Korea.
Seong Shoon
SS
Yoon
Young Kyu
YK
Kwon
Mi Ryeo
MR
Kim
Insop
I
Shim
Kwang Joong
KJ
Kim
Mann Hyung
MH
Lee
Young Sun
YS
Lee
Gregory T
GT
Golden
Chae Ha
CH
Yang
D026881:Acupuncture; D015669:Acupuncture Points; D000818:Animals; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D058788:GABA-B Receptor Antagonists; D008297:Male; D009025:Morpholines / Q000494:pharmacology; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018080:Receptors, GABA-B / Q000502:physiology*
C095804:(+)-(S)-5,5-dimethylmorpholinyl-2-acetic acid; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D058788:GABA-B Receptor Antagonists; D009025:Morpholines; D018080:Receptors, GABA-B; D000431:Ethanol; D004298:Dopamine