title: Acupuncture stimulation improves scopolamine-induced cognitive impairment via activation of cholinergic system and regulation of BDNF and CREB expressions in rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Acupuncture is an alternative therapy that is widely used to treat various neurodegenerative diseases and effectively improve cognitive and memory impairment. The aim of this study was to examine whether acupuncture stimulation at the Baihui (GV20) acupoint improves memory defects caused by scopolamine (SCO) administration in rats. We also investigated the effects of acupuncture stimulation at GV20 on the cholinergic system as well as the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and cAMP-response element-binding protein (CREB) in the hippocampus.
  
  
  METHODS
  SCO (2 mg/kg, i.p.) was administered to male rats once daily for 14 days. Acupuncture stimulation at GV20 was performed for 5 min before SCO injection. After inducing cognitive impairment via SCO administration, we conducted a passive avoidance test (PAT) and the Morris water maze (MWM) test to assess behavior.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Acupuncture stimulation at GV20 improved memory impairment as measured by the PAT and reduced the escape latency for finding the platform in the MWM test. Acupuncture stimulation at GV20 significantly alleviated memory-associated decreases in the levels of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), BDNF and CREB proteins in the hippocampus. Additionally, acupuncture stimulation at GV20 significantly restored the expression of choline transporter 1 (CHT1), vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT), BDNF and CREB mRNA in the hippocampus. These results demonstrate that acupuncture stimulation at GV20 exerts significant neuroprotective effects against SCO-induced neuronal impairment and memory dysfunction in rats.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that acupuncture stimulation at GV20 might be useful in various neurodegenerative diseases to improve cognitive functioning via stimulating cholinergic enzyme activities and regulating BDNF and CREB expression in the brain.
authors.affiliation: Acupuncture and Meridian Science Research Center, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, 26 Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea. bombi@khu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Bombi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Bongjun
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sur
authors.forename: Jaegul
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shim
authors.forename: Dae-Hyun
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Hahm
authors.forename: Hyejung
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D015670:Acupuncture Therapy; D000818:Animals; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000628:therapy*; D017362:Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012601:Scopolamine / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D017362:Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein; D012601:Scopolamine