Acupuncture stimulation improves scopolamine-induced cognitive impairment via activation of cholinergic system and regulation of BDNF and CREB expressions in rats

Abstract

BackgroundAcupuncture 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.MethodsSCO (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.ResultsAcupuncture 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.ConclusionsThese 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.

Enhanced behavioral response by decreasing brain oxidative stress to 6-hydroxy-l-nicotine in Alzheimer’s disease rat model

“…injection of scopolamine causes memory impairment, in accordance with previous investigations [4,18]. Scopolamine is a tropane alkaloid drug that exhibits competitive antagonism at muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) by interfering with cholinergic transmission in the central nervous system (CNS) [16,17]. Moreover, scopolamine administration to animals is used as an experimental model of the cognitive deterioration and memory disturbances in AD.…”

Laser Acupuncture Exerts Neuroprotective Effects via Regulation of Creb, Bdnf, Bcl-2, and Bax Gene Expressions in the Hippocampus

“…Although Creb and Bdnf gene expressions increased with MA, the expressions were not significantly higher than the expressions in the impaired rats. Considering that several previous studies have shown the regulation of CREB and BDNF neurotrophic signaling by MA stimulation of the points GV20 [47] and HT7 [19], the limited upregulation of Creb and Bdnf gene expressions shown by MA after cognitive impairment in this study was unexpected. One possible explanation for this discrepancy is the difference in the methods used to induce cognitive impairment.…”

“…One possible explanation for this discrepancy is the difference in the methods used to induce cognitive impairment. While cognitive impairment was induced via MCAO surgery in the present study, in the previous studies, cognitive impairment was induced via repeated administration of either corticosterone [19] or scopolamine [47]. The model-dependent effects of MA on cognitive deficit cannot be completely explained, and further studies are required to elucidate the differences in the effects of MA in diverse cognitive deficit models.…”

Neuroprotective and Antiamnesic Effects ofMitragyna inermisWilld (Rubiaceae) on Scopolamine-Induced Memory Impairment in Mice

“…M. inermis significantly reversed this effect by decreasing the escape latency time prolonged by scopolamine, suggesting also the remembering on the platform by these mice [49, 50]. MWM is used as a device to investigate spatial learning and memory and for the validation of rodent models for neurocognitive disorders and the evaluation of possible neurocognitive treatments [52].…”

“…Consequently, these results suggest that M. inermis improves long-term and reference memory impairments induced by scopolamine [50, 51, 53, 54]. …”