Electro-acupuncture stimulation acts on the basal ganglia output pathway to ameliorate motor impairment in Parkinsonian model rats.
The role of electro-acupuncture (EA) stimulation on motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD) has not been well studied. In a rat hemiparkinsonian model induced by unilateral transection of the medial forebrain bundle (MFB), EA stimulation improved motor impairment in a frequency-dependent manner. Whereas EA stimulation at a low frequency (2 Hz) had no effect, EA stimulation at a high frequency (100 Hz) significantly improved motor coordination. However, neither low nor high EA stimulation could significantly enhance dopamine levels in the striatum. EA stimulation at 100 Hz normalized the MFB lesion-induced increase in midbrain GABA content, but it had no effect on GABA content in the globus pallidus. These results suggest that high-frequency EA stimulation improves motor impairment in MFB-lesioned rats by increasing GABAergic inhibition in the output structure of the basal ganglia.
Jia
Jun
J
Department of Physiology, Key Laboratory for Neurodegenerative Disorders of the Ministry of Education, Capital Medical University, Beijing, Peoples Republic of China.
Li
Bo
B
Sun
Zuo-Li
ZL
Yu
Fen
F
Wang
Xuan
X
Wang
Xiao-Min
XM
D015670:Acupuncture Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000378:metabolism*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005917:Globus Pallidus / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000378:metabolism; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000378:metabolism; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy*; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D045442:Rotarod Performance Test; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism
D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D004298:Dopamine