title: Effect of electroacupuncture pretreatment at GB20 on behaviour and the descending pain modulatory system in a rat model of migraine.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  While electroacupuncture (EA) pretreatment has been found to ameliorate migraine-like symptoms, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Emerging evidence suggests that the brainstem descending pain modulatory system, comprising the periaqueductal grey (PAG), raphe magnus nucleus (RMg), and trigeminal nucleus caudalis (TNC), may be involved in migraine pathophysiology. We hypothesised that EA would ameliorate migraine-like symptoms via modulation of this descending system.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used a conscious rat model of migraine induced by repeated electrical stimulation of the dura. Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to one of four groups: an EA group, which received EA at GB20 following dural stimulation; a sham acupuncture (SA) group, which received manual acupuncture at a non-acupuncture point following dural stimulation; a Model group, which received dural stimulation but no acupuncture; and a Control group, which received neither dural stimulation nor acupuncture (electrode implantation only). HomeCageScan was used to measure effects on behaviour, and immunofluorescence staining was used to examine neural activation (c-Fos immunoreactivity) in the PAG, RMg, and TNC.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to the Model group, rats in the EA group showed a significant increase in exploratory, locomotor and eating/drinking behaviour (p<0.01) and a significant decrease in freezing-like resting and grooming behaviour (p<0.05). There was a significant increase in the mean number of c-Fos neurons in the PAG, RMg, and TNC in Model versus Control groups (p<0.001); however, this was significantly attenuated by EA treatment (p<0.001). There were no significant differences between the SA and Model groups in behaviour or c-Fos immunoreactivity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  EA pretreatment ameliorates behavioural changes in a rat model of recurrent migraine, possibly via modulation of the brainstem descending pathways.
authors.affiliation: Acupuncture and Moxibustion Department, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Pei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pei
authors.affiliation: Acupuncture and Moxibustion Department, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Acupuncture and Moxibustion Department, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Luopeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Acupuncture and Moxibustion Department, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Yingxue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Acupuncture and Moxibustion Department, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhengyang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: Acupuncture and Moxibustion Department, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Linpeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D015669:Acupuncture Points; D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004435:Eating; D015671:Electroacupuncture; D006801:Humans; D008124:Locomotion; D008297:Male; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D065846:Nucleus Raphe Magnus / Q000503:physiopathology; D010487:Periaqueductal Gray / Q000503:physiopathology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
keywords: ACUPUNCTURE