Acupuncture to point Baihui prevents ischemia-induced functional impairment of cortical GABAergic neurons.

Ischemia impairs brain function and networks, in which the vulnerability of GABAergic neurons causes neural excitotoxicity and nerve cell death. Acupuncture presumably improves the outcome of stroke patients; however, cellular mechanisms underlying this improvement remain to be elusive. We have investigated whether electrical stimuli to acupoint Baihui prevent ischemia- induced impairment of cortical GABAergic neurons.