Effect of Acupuncture at ST36 on Ischemia-induced Learning and Memory Deficits in Gerbils

The present study was investigated the neuroprotective effects of acupuncture at ST36 on learning and memory deficits after transient cerebral ischemia in a gerbil model. The animals were randomly divided into three groups (n=7 in each group): the sham operation group (SHAM), ischemia-induced and ST36 acupuncture group (ISC + ST36), and the ischemia-induced and Tail-acupuncture group (ISC + TAIL). For the acupuncture stimulation, stainless steel needles, 0.3 mm in diameter, were inserted bilaterally into the ST36 locus or the tail and stimulated for 1 min/day for 14 days. Using the Morris water maze test, the animals were tested on spatial learning and memory. In addition, the effects of acupuncture on memory storage and the choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity, in the hippocampal CA1 area, were investigated by ChAT immunohistochemistry. Transient cerebral ischemia produced impaired performance on the MWM test (DAY 5: p<0.01 and retention test: p<0.05) and severely decreased ChAT immunoreactivity in the CA1 hippocampal area compared to the SHAM group (p<0.05). However, improved learning and memory were observed (DAY 5: p<0.05 and retention test: p<0.01) as well as a significantly reduced loss of ChAT immunoactivity in the hippocampal CA1 region (p<0.001) after acupuncture stimulation at ST36 were observed. These results show that acupuncture at ST36 ameliorated the learning and memory deficits at least in part through the cholinergic system. The findings of this study provide potential data that acupuncture is useful for the treatment of some of the behavioral impairs of transient cerebral ischemia.