ArticleThe journal of physiological sciences : JPS2012
Acupuncture stimulation at HT7 alleviates depression-induced behavioral changes via regulation of the serotonin system in the prefrontal cortex of maternally-separated rat pups.
Article in The journal of physiological sciences : JPS, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 43 citations in OpenAlex.
- The efficacy of acupuncture treatment for fibromyalgia syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy and mechanism of acupuncture in animal models of depressive-like behaviors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Pooled it
- Acupuncture for tumor-related depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2023Pooled it
- Acupuncture in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Narrative Review of Neurotransmitter Regulation and Neuroplasticity.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Self-administered acupressure training for depression in community-dwelling individuals: a randomized controlled trial and cost-effectiveness analysis.EClinicalMedicine · 2026Article
- Acupoint massage: a comprehensive descriptive review of its forms, applications, and underlying mechanisms.Chinese medicine · 2025Review
- From bidirectional pathophysiology to integrative therapeutics: current status and future perspectives of acupuncture for tinnitus-insomnia comorbidity.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Acupuncture may play a key role in anti-depression through various mechanisms in depression.Chinese medicine · 2024Review
- Mechanical acupuncture at HT7 attenuates alcohol self-administration in rats by modulating neuroinflammation and altering mPFC-habenula-VTA circuit activity.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2024Article
- Electroacupuncture versus Escitalopram for mild to moderate Post-Stroke Depression: A randomized non-inferiority trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Potential Mechanisms and Clinical Effectiveness of Acupuncture in Depression.Current neuropharmacology · 2022Review
- Early Life Stress Induces Different Behaviors in Adolescence and Adulthood May Related With Abnormal Medial Prefrontal Cortex Excitation/Inhibition Balance.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2021Article
- Effects of electroacupuncture therapy for depression: Study protocol for a multicentered, randomized controlled trial.Medicine · 2020Article
- Applications of Acupuncture Therapy in Modulating the Plasticity of Neurodegenerative Disease and Depression: Do MicroRNA and Neurotrophin BDNF Shed Light on the Underlying Mechanism?Neural plasticity · 2020Review
- Commonality and Specificity of Acupuncture Point Selections.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2020Article
- Clinical application of single acupoint (HT7).Integrative medicine research · 2019Article
- Sex Differences in Antidepressant Effect of Sertraline in Transgenic Mouse Models.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2019Article
- Article
- Caregivers' knowledge and acceptance of complementary and alternative medicine in a tertiary care pediatric hospital.Journal of pain research · 2018Article
- Acupuncture alters pro-inflammatory cytokines in the plasma of maternally separated rat pups.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
A possible application of acupuncture in alleviating depression-like behavioral changes and regulating serotonin signaling in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of maternally-separated rat pups was investigated in this study. On postnatal day 15, rat pups were maternally-separated and received acupuncture stimulation at acupoint HT7 or ST36 once a day for 7 days. On postnatal day 21, the tail suspension test was performed and the PFC was harvested. Tissue levels of serotonin (5-HT) and 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (5-HIAA) were then measured by high-performance liquid chromatography and expression of serotonin transporter (5-HTT) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were assessed by western blotting. Levels of 5-HT and 5-HIAA were not significantly changed, but the 5-HIAA/5-HT ratio was significantly increased by maternal separation. The immobility time of maternally-separated rat pups was increased, and increased 5-HTT expression and reduced BDNF level were observed in the PFC. But acupuncture stimulation at HT7 alleviated the behavioral change and regulated the changes of 5-HIAA/5-HT ratio, 5-HTT, and BDNF. In conclusion, acupuncture stimulation at HT7 can relieve maternal separation-induced changes, and we propose that regulation of the 5-HIAA/5-HT ratio and of 5-HTT expression by acupuncture stimulation are important acupuncture-induced benefits in this animal model of depression.
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