The tegmental–accumbal dopaminergic system mediates the anxiolytic effect of acupuncture during ethanol withdrawal

Zhao, Zhenglin; Kim, Sang Chan; Zhao, Rongjie; Wu, Yafang; Zhang, Jie; Liu, HongFeng; Kim, Young Woo; Zhu, Xiaodong; Gu, Changhong; Lee, Chul Won; Lee, Bong Hyo; Jang, Eun Young; Ko, Hae Li; Yang, Chae Ha

doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2015.04.045

Cited by 17 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Electro‐acupuncture is one non‐invasion approach of traditional Chinese medicine and has been used extensively in Asia to treat mental health disorders 23 . Both in clinic and animal research, EA has been proved to have beneficial effects against psychostimulants‐induced anxiety‐like behaviors, 26,44‐47 but the therapeutic mechanism remains unclear. In this study, EA was performed on acupoints of GV29 and GV20 for 30 minutes once a day for 37 days in ACE mice.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electro‐acupuncture alleviates adolescent cocaine exposure‐enhanced anxiety‐like behaviors in adult mice by attenuating the activities of PV interneurons in PrL

Nie

Wei

et al. 2020

FASEB j.

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We recently found that adolescent cocaine exposure (ACE) resulted in an enhancement of the γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmitter system in the prelimbic cortex (PrL) of adult mice. Here, we aim to further investigate the role of GABAergic transmission, especially parvalbumin (PV) interneurons within PrL in the development of ACE‐induced anxiety‐like behavior, and to assess whether and how electro‐acupuncture (EA) therapeutically manage the ACE‐induced abnormal behaviors in adulthood. ACE mice exhibited the enhanced anxiety‐like behaviors in their adulthood, accompanied by increased GABAergic transmission and PV interneurons in PrL. Chemogenetic blocking PV interneurons in PrL alleviated ACE‐enhanced anxiety‐like behaviors in mice. Importantly, 37‐day EA treatments (mixture of 2 Hz/100 Hz, 1 mA, 30 minutes once a day) at the acupoints of Yintang (GV29) and Baihui (GV20) also alleviated ACE‐induced anxiety‐like behaviors, and rescued ACE‐impaired GABAergic neurotransmitter system and PV interneurons in PrL. In parallel, EA treatments further suppressed the activities of pyramidal neurons in PrL, suggesting that EA treatments seem to perform it beneficial effects on the ACE‐induced abnormal emotional behaviors by “calming down” the whole PrL. Collectively, these findings revealed that hyper‐function of GABAergic transmission, especially mediating by PV interneurons in PrL may be key etiology underlying ACE‐induced anxiety‐like behaviors. At least by normalizing the function of GABAergic and PV interneurons, EA may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for managing adolescent substance use‐related emotional disorders.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electro‐acupuncture alleviates adolescent cocaine exposure‐enhanced anxiety‐like behaviors in adult mice by attenuating the activities of PV interneurons in PrL

Nie

Wei

et al. 2020

FASEB j.

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“… 12 These experiments have provided preliminary evidence in support of beneficial effects of acupuncture for AWS. Some clinical trials have also been conducted to evaluate the effects of acupuncture for the treatment of AWS; 13–15 however, an earlier systematic review found insufficient qualified evidence to show that it reduced the desire for alcohol or alleviated psychological symptoms. 16 The aim of this study was to provide an updated review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effects of traditional acupuncture plus conventional drugs, or traditional acupuncture alone, on the craving for alcohol or psychological symptoms among patients with AWS.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic Review of Acupuncture for the Treatment of Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome

et al. 2018

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BackgroundAcupuncture has been used as a potential therapy for alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS), but evidence for its effects on this condition is limited.ObjectiveTo assess the effects and safety of acupuncture for AWS.Data sourcesCentral Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, Chinese Biomedicine Literature (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wan-Fang Database were searched from their inception to August 2016.Study eligibility criteriaRandomised controlled trials (RCTs) of drug plus acupuncture or acupuncture alone for the treatment of AWS were included.Data collection and analysisContinuous data were expressed as mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Dichotomous data were expressed as risk ratio (RR) with 95% CI.ResultsEleven RCTs with 875 participants were included. In the acute phase, two trials reported no difference between drug plus acupuncture and drug plus sham acupuncture in the reduction of craving for alcohol; however, two positive trials reported that drug plus acupuncture was superior to drug alone in the alleviation of psychological symptoms. In the protracted phase, one trial reported acupuncture was superior to sham acupuncture in reducing the craving for alcohol, one trial reported no difference between acupuncture and drug (disulfiram), and one trial reported acupuncture was superior to sham acupuncture for the alleviation of psychological symptoms. Adverse effects were tolerable and not severe.ConclusionThere was nosignificant difference between acupuncture (plus drug) and sham acupuncture (plus drug) with respect to the primary outcome measure of craving for alcohol among participants with AWS, and no difference in completion rates (pooled results). There was limited evidence from individual trials that acupuncture may reduce alcohol craving in the protracted phase and help alleviate psychological symptoms; however, given concerns about the quantity and quality of included studies, further large-scale and well-conducted RCTs are needed.Protocol registrationPROSPERO CRD42016039862.

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“…Because both cocaine and METH are psychostimulants, PC6 may be unsuitable for direct treatment of psychostimulants-induced behavioral changes. Zhao et al [42] recently suggested that acupuncture at HT7, but not at PC6, reduces alcohol withdrawal effects through increasing TH mRNA and protein expression in the VTA and NAc, respectively, along with dopamine levels in the NAc. However, stimulation of PC6 can effectively treat Internet addiction [43] and alleviate the withdrawal syndrome of heroin addiction [44]; the acupoint is also involved in neurotransmitter regulation [45].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Electroacupuncture on Methamphetamine‐Induced Behavioral Changes in Mice

Lee

et al. 2017

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

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Methamphetamine (METH) is a major drug of abuse worldwide, and no efficient therapeutic strategies for treating METH addiction are currently available. Continuous METH use can cause behavioral upregulation or psychosis. The dopaminergic pathways, particularly the neural circuitry from the ventral tegmental area to the nucleus accumbens (NAc), have a critical role in this behavioral stage. Acupuncture has been used for treating diseases in China for more than 2000 years. According to a World Health Organization report, acupuncture can be used to treat several functional disorders, including substance abuse. In addition, acupuncture is effective against opioids addiction. In this study, we used electroacupuncture (EA) for treating METH-induced behavioral changes and investigated the possible therapeutic mechanism. Results showed that EA at the unilateral Zhubin (KI9)–Taichong (LR3) significantly reduced METH-induced behavioral sensitization and conditioned place preference. In addition, both dopamine and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) levels decreased but monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) levels increased in the NAc of the METH-treated mice receiving EA compared with those not receiving EA. EA may be a useful nonpharmacological approach for treating METH-induced behavioral changes, probably because it reduces the METH-induced TH expression and dopamine levels and raises MAO-A expression in the NAc.

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The tegmental–accumbal dopaminergic system mediates the anxiolytic effect of acupuncture during ethanol withdrawal

Cited by 17 publications

References 23 publications

Electro‐acupuncture alleviates adolescent cocaine exposure‐enhanced anxiety‐like behaviors in adult mice by attenuating the activities of PV interneurons in PrL

Electro‐acupuncture alleviates adolescent cocaine exposure‐enhanced anxiety‐like behaviors in adult mice by attenuating the activities of PV interneurons in PrL

Systematic Review of Acupuncture for the Treatment of Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome

Effects of Electroacupuncture on Methamphetamine‐Induced Behavioral Changes in Mice

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