JIANG Li, FU Wenbin, LIU Jianhua, TANG Xiaorong, ZHOU Junhe Zhou, ZHANG Hao, LIU Nan, HUANG Xiaoyue

(1 Guangdong Provincial Hospital of TCM, Guangzhou 510120, China; 2 The Second Clinical 

Medical College of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510000, China)

Abstract: Background and Objective: Electroacupuncture (EA) has been shown to alleviate the symptoms associated with major depressive disorder; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.  we  investigate  the  effects  of  electroacupunture  on  the  depressive-like  symptoms  and cognitive behavior and the expressions of CREB and BDNF in preforntal cortex in  two different depressed rats.  Study Design/Materials and Methods:50 male SD rats were randomized into normal, CUS, CRS, EA+CUS, EA+CRS groups(n=10). Chronic unpredictable stress（CUS）or Chronic restraint stress （CRS） was treated in CUS and CRS groups repectively. Electroacupuncture stimulation (EA) was pre-provided at Baihui (GV20), and Yintang (GV29) acupoints daily during stress.  Forced  swimming  test  (FST),  the  sucrose-intake  test  (OFT)  and  attentional  set-shifting task(AST）were evaluated after intervention. Then measured the expression level of CREB and BDNF  in  preforntal  cortex  were  measured.  Results:  It  was  found  that  EA  pre-treatment significantly increased the consumption and preference of sucrose compared with the CUS model group. In the AST test, CUS induced the deficit of cognitive flexibility as characterized by the impairment of EDS and REL that presented as the increase of trials of criterion in EDS and REL stage. EA  reduced  the  trials  of  criterion  in  EDS  and  REL  stage  in  when  compared  with corresponding controls．While EA pre-treatment significantly reduced immobility time in FST and decreased the trials of criterion in both of EDS stages as compared with the CRS model group. In the western blot, the expressions of CREB and BDNF in the prefrontal cortex showed significant increase in both of the two EA groups vs corresponding depressed controls (P<0. 05).  Conclusions:EA was able to improve depression-like behaviors in two different depressed model rats, which were likely mediated by up-regulation of CREB and BDNF expressions in the prefrontal cortex of rats. 

Key words: Electroacupuncture, Chronic unpredictable stress, Chronic restraint stress, cognitive behavior, CREB, BDNF