ArticleCNS neuroscience & therapeutics2023
Electroacupuncture alleviated depression-like behaviors in ventromedial prefrontal cortex of chronic unpredictable mild stress-induced rats: Increasing synaptic transmission and phosphorylating dopamine transporter.
Article in CNS neuroscience & therapeutics, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and influencing factors of acupuncture in major depressive disorder: a systematic review and exploratory network meta-analysis.CNS spectrums · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of acupuncture on monoaminergic neurotransmitters in animal models of vascular dementia: a preclinical systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Pooled it
- Research trends and hotspots of electroacupuncture for depression: a bibliometric and visual analysis (2005-2025).Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Acupuncture and related therapies for anxiety and depression in patients with premature ovarian insufficiency and diminished ovarian reserve: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Targeting dopamine transporter for treating social transmission of depression-like behaviors in male mice.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Electroacupuncture Ameliorates Depressive-Like Behaviors by Enhancing Autophagy to Attenuate Hippocampal Neuroinflammation via the VEGF/AKT1/ERK Pathway in CUMS Rats.Neurochemical research · 2026Article
- Sex-dependent effects of short- and long-term social isolation on behavior and medial prefrontal DAT in rats.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Exosomal Adiponectin Plays a Role in Electroacupuncture Analgesia by Activating the Adiponectin Receptor 1 to Inhibit Pain-Related Pathways in Mice Brain.Pain research & management · 2026Article
- Article
- Mechanisms of acupuncture in treating depression: a review.Chinese medicine · 2025Review
- Possible antidepressant mechanism of acupuncture: targeting neuroplasticity.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Review
- Therapeutic effects and mechanism analysis of Paeonia lactiflora extract (PLE) in menopausal rats with hot flashes.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Dopamine D1 receptor in medial prefrontal cortex mediates the effects of TAAR1 activation on chronic stress-induced cognitive and social deficits.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024Article
- Major depressive disorder: hypothesis, mechanism, prevention and treatment.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2024Review
- Treatment of Depression with Acupuncture Based on Pathophysiological Mechanism.International journal of general medicine · 2024Review
- Electroacupuncture alleviated depression-like behaviors in ventromedial prefrontal cortex of chronic unpredictable mild stress-induced rats: Increasing synaptic transmission and phosphorylating dopamine transporter.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsElectroacupuncture (EA) shows advantages in both clinical practice and depression animal models. Dopaminergic-related dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) may be a hidden antidepressant mechanism of EA, where dopamine transporter (DAT) plays an essential role. This study aimed to investigate the synaptic transmission and DAT-related changes of EA in depression.
methodsMale Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to 3-week chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). The successfully modeled rats were then randomly and equally assigned to CUMS, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), and EA or SSRI + EA groups, followed by a 2-week treatment respectively. After monitoring body weight and behavioral tests of all rats, the ventromedial PFC (vmPFC) tissue was collected for electrophysiology and the expression detection of DAT, phosphorylated DAT (p-DAT), cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), protein kinase A (PKA), and trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1).
resultsDepressive-like behaviors induced by CUMS were alleviated by EA, SSRI, and SSRI + EA treatments through behavioral tests. Compared with CUMS group, EA improved synaptic transmission in vmPFC by upregulating spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents amplitude. Molecularly, EA reversed the increased total DAT and p-DAT expression as well as the decreased ratio of p-DAT/total DAT along with the activation of TAAR1, cAMP, and PKA in vmPFC.
conclusionWe speculated that the antidepressant effect of EA was associated with enhanced synaptic transmission in vmPFC, and the upregulated phosphorylation of DAT relevant to TAAR1, cAMP, and PKA may be the potential mechanism.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.