ArticleFrontiers in behavioral neuroscience2020
Mechanisms Underlying the Antidepressant Effect of Acupuncture
Article in Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and safety of electroacupuncture-based comprehensive treatment for post-stroke depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Potential Pleiotropic Genes and Shared Biological Pathways in Epilepsy and Depression Based on GWAS Summary Statistics.Computational intelligence and neuroscience · 2022Pooled it
- The effects of an anti-inflammatory diet alone or in combination with acupuncture on mental health, anthropometric indices, and metabolic status in diabetic patients with depression: a randomized, controlled clinical trial.Nutrition & diabetes · 2025Trial
- Acupuncture Is Effective at Reducing the Risk of Stroke in Patients with Migraines: A Real-World, Large-Scale Cohort Study with 19-Years of Follow-Up.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Trial
- Article
- Regulating the Plasticity of Hippocampal Neurons via Electroacupuncture in Depression Model Mice.Cell proliferation · 2025Article
- Effect of electroacupuncture on anxiety in patients with obesity: a protocol for a randomised, blinded, sham-controlled trial.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Mechanisms of acupuncture in treating depression: a review.Chinese medicine · 2025Review
- Acupuncture may play a key role in anti-depression through various mechanisms in depression.Chinese medicine · 2024Review
- Major depressive disorder: hypothesis, mechanism, prevention and treatment.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2024Review
- Suanzaoren decoction exerts its antidepressant effect via the CaMK signaling pathway.Translational neuroscience · 2024Article
- Possible Involvement of Perineuronal Nets in Anti-Depressant Effects of Electroacupuncture in Chronic-Stress-Induced Depression in Rats.Neurochemical research · 2023Article
- Acupuncture Therapy on Dementia: Explained with an Integrated Analysis on Therapeutic Targets and Associated Mechanisms.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2023Article
- Targeting Mitochondrial Homeostasis: The Role of Acupuncture in Depression Treatment.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2023Review
- Low-Dimensional Dynamics of Brain Activity Associated with Manual Acupuncture in Healthy Subjects.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Understanding complex functional wiring patterns in major depressive disorder through brain functional connectome.Translational psychiatry · 2021Review
- The Calcium/Calmodulin-Dependent Kinases II and IV as Therapeutic Targets in Neurodegenerative and Neuropsychiatric Disorders.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The CaMK pathway has been proven to play an important role in regulating cognitive function and emotional response. Acupuncture through the CaMK pathway improves depression-like behavior and the molecular mechanism related to its antidepressant remains to be explored. In this study, we aimed to determine whether the ability of acupuncture at Baihui (GV20) and Shenting (GV24) points to treat depression is related to the regulation of key proteins in the CaMK pathway. A rat model of depression was induced by chronic unpredicted mild stress (CUMS). Model rats in the electroacupuncture group were subjected to acupuncture at the Baihui (GV20) and Shenting (GV24) acupoints once a day for 20 min. Model rats in the fluoxetine group were gavaged with fluoxetine (1.8 mg/kg). Immunohistochemistry and Western blotting assays were used to evaluate immunoreactivity for and the protein expression levels of CaMKII, CaMKIV, and CaM. The results showed that electroacupuncture had a significant effect in rats with depression. Electroacupuncture and fluoxetine regulated the expression of key proteins in the CaMK signaling pathway, which is related to depression, in the hippocampi of rats. This indicates that acupuncture at Baihui (GV20) and Shenting (GV24) may alleviate depressive symptoms and reduce work- and life-related burdens and stress by regulating the CaMK signaling pathway.
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