Acupuncture-mediated inhibition of ethanol-induced dopamine release in the rat nucleus accumbens through the GABAB receptor
2004; Elsevier BV; Volume: 369; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/j.neulet.2004.07.095
ISSN1872-7972
AutoresSeong Shoon Yoon, Young Kyu Kwon, Mi Ryeo Kim, Insop Shim, Kwang Joong Kim, Mann Hyung Lee, Young‐Sun Lee, Gregory T. Golden, Chae Ha Yang,
Tópico(s)Healthcare and Venom Research
ResumoClinical trials are currently underway to determine the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of drug abuse. However, there are still many unanswered questions about the basic mechanisms of acupuncture. Studies have shown that the GABAB receptor system may play a significant modulatory role in the mesolimbic system in drug abuse, including ethanol. The in vivo microdialysis study was designed to investigate the effect of acupuncture on acute ethanol-induced dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens and the potential role of the GABAB receptor system in acupuncture. Male Sprague–Dawley rats were administered with the highly selective GABAB antagonist SCH 50911 (3 mg/kg, i.p.) 1 h prior to an intraperitoneal injection of ethanol (1 g/kg). Immediately after ethanol treatment, acupuncture was given at bilateral Shenmen (HT7) points for 1 min. Acupuncture at the specific acupoint HT7, but not at control points (PC6 or tail) significantly decreased dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. Inhibition of dopamine release by acupuncture was completely prevented by SCH 50911. These results suggest that stimulation of specific acupoints inhibits ethanol-induced dopamine release by modulating GABAB activity and imply that acupuncture may be effective in blocking the reinforcing effects of ethanol.
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