Mechanical acupuncture at HT7 attenuates alcohol self-administration in rats by modulating neuroinflammation and altering mPFC-habenula-VTA circuit activity.

Introduction: Alcohol use disorder is a chronic disorder with significant limitations in pharmacological treatments, necessitating the exploration of non-pharmacological interventions.

Methods: We used a model of alcohol self-administration (10% v/v) to analyze behavioral, neurochemical, and signaling mechanisms.

Results: Our findings demonstrate that stimulation of the HT7 acupuncture point significantly decreased the frequency of active lever presses in rats self-administering alcohol ( < 0.

Attenuation of immobilization stress-induced hypertension by temperature-controllable warm needle acupuncture in rats and the peripheral neural mechanisms.

Introduction: We and others have shown that electrical stimulation of the PC-6 acupoint over the wrist relieves hypertension by stimulating afferent sensory nerve fibers and activating the central endogenous opioid system. Warm needle acupuncture has long been utilized to treat various diseases in clinics.

Methods: Here, we developed a temperature-controllable warm needle acupuncture instrument (WAI) and investigated the peripheral mechanism underlying the effect of warm needle acupuncture at PC-6 on hypertension in a rat model of immobilization stress-induced hypertension.

An Increase in Peripheral Temperature following Cocaine Administration Is Mediated through Activation of Dopamine D2 Receptor in Rats.

Drug addiction has become a worldwide problem, affecting millions of people across the globe. While the majority of mechanistic studies on drug addiction have been focused on the central nervous system, including the mesolimbic dopamine system, the peripheral actions of drugs of abuse remain largely unknown. Our preliminary study found that the systemic injection of cocaine increased peripheral skin temperature.

Inhibition of Spinal TRPV1 Reduces NMDA Receptor 2B Phosphorylation and Produces Anti-Nociceptive Effects in Mice with Inflammatory Pain.

Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) has been implicated in peripheral inflammation and is a mediator of the inflammatory response to various noxious stimuli. However, the interaction between TRPV1 and -methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in the regulation of inflammatory pain remains poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the analgesic effects of intrathecal administration of capsazepine, a TRPV1 antagonist, on carrageenan-induced inflammatory pain in mice and to identify its interactions with NMDA receptors.

Acupuncture stimulation at HT7 as a non-pharmacological therapy for sleep disorder caused by caffeine administration in rats.

Objectives: Insomnia is one of the most common sleep disorders and is difficult to completely treat because of the undesirable side effects of hypnotics. The present study was designed to investigate the hypnotic effect of acupuncture stimulation at HT7 on caffeine-induced sleep disorders and locomotor activity in rats. We also evaluated neuronal activity changes in the arousal region of the basal forebrain.

Acupuncture Alleviates Anxiety and 22-kHz Ultrasonic Vocalizations in Rats Subjected to Repeated Alcohol Administration by Modulating the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone Signaling Pathway.

The Shenmen point (acupuncture point heart 7: HT7), located in the heart meridian, is frequently used to treat mental disorders, including drug addiction, anxiety, and depression. This study aimed to determine how HT7 regulates anxiety and negative emotions caused by repeated alcohol administration, focusing on the amygdala and paraventricular nucleus (PVN). Repeated administration of alcohol (ETOH; 2 g/kg, i.

The effect of acupuncture stimulation on alleviating emotional changes due to acute alcohol administration and the possibility of sigma receptor involvement.

Background: Most ETOH addiction preclinical studies have focused on the rewards of chronic ETOH self-administration or the ETOH reinstatement model. Acute ETOH administration studies are scarce despite the potential of ETOH to cause sedation, intoxication and reduced acute functional tolerance. Here, we established a rat model of acute ETOH administration induced by an intraperitoneal injection of 1 g/kg ethanol and assessed the similarities in physiological and behavioral effects between acupuncture and Sigma1 R antagonists.

Treatment of electrical wrist stimulation reduces chemotherapy-induced neuropathy and ultrasound vocalization via modulation of spinal NR2B phosphorylation.

Docetaxel, a chemotherapeutic agent used to treat breast cancer, produces a robust painful neuropathy that is aggravated by mechanical and thermal stimuli. This study was undertaken to investigate the analgesic effects of electrical stimulation on docetaxel-induced neuropathic pain in mice and to identify associated changes in ultrasound vocalizations. Peripheral neuropathy was induced with intraperitoneally injected docetaxel (5 mg/kg) on 3 times every 2 days in male ICR mice.

Involvement of the Cuneate Nucleus in the Acupuncture Inhibition of Drug-Seeking Behaviors.

Our previous studies have shown that acupuncture suppresses addictive behaviors induced by drugs of abuse, including cocaine, morphine and ethanol, by modulating GABA neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and dopamine (DA) release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). The mechanisms by which the peripheral signals generated by acupoint stimulation are transmitted to brain reward systems are largely unexplored. The present study aims to investigate the role of spinal dorsal column (DC) somatosensory pathways in the acupuncture inhibition of drug addictive behaviors.

A mechanical acupuncture instrument mitigates the endoplasmic reticulum stress and oxidative stress of ovariectomized rats.

Background: Acupuncture has become a common complementary and alternative treatment approach for anxiety and depression. However, there is little research on the detailed mechanism of acupuncture therapy relieving depression. Previously, 17β-estradiol (E2) was shown to prevent oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in ovariectomized (OVX) rats.

Peripheral Sensory Nerve Tissue but Not Connective Tissue Is Involved in the Action of Acupuncture.

Acupuncture has been used to treat a variety of diseases and symptoms for more than 2,500 years. While a number of studies have shown that nerves are responsible for initiating the effects of acupuncture, several lines of study have emphasized the role of connective tissue in the initiation of acupuncture signals. To determine whether nerves or connective tissue mediate the action of acupuncture, we constructed a robotic acupuncture needle twister that mimicked the twisting of the needle by an acupuncturist, and we examined the role of nerves and connective tissues in the generation of acupuncture effects in rat cocaine-induced locomotion, stress-induced hypertension, and mustard oil-induced visceral pain models.

Attenuation of hypertension by C-fiber stimulation of the human median nerve and the concept-based novel device.

High blood pressure (BP) is a highly controllable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases; however, awareness of this condition and the rates of controlled hypertension are low. Experimental animal studies have shown that stimulation of the median nerve or PC6 acupoint over the wrist has effects on cardiovascular activities, including reductions in systolic and diastolic BPs. A proof-of-concept study was conducted in humans to investigate whether stimulation of median nerve near PC6 acupoint decreased high BP, identify the optimal stimulation parameters for the BP-lowering effects of median nerve stimulation, and determine the specific peripheral nerves or types of afferent fibers mediating the BP-lowering effects.

An estradiol-independent BDNF-NPY cascade is involved in the antidepressant effect of mechanical acupuncture instruments in ovariectomized rats.

Menopause-related depression devastates women's quality of life after middle age. Previous research has shown that estrogen hormone therapy has serious adverse effects; thus, complementary and integrative therapies have been considered clinically. The present study investigates whether stimulation of an acupoint using a mechanical acupuncture instrument (MAI) can mitigate depression-like behavior caused by estrogen deficiency in ovariectomized (OVX) rats.