This study aimed to observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on the spatial memory of diabetic rats and to determine the expression of synaptic plasticity-related proteins in the dentate gyrus (DG), thereby exploring the potential therapeutic mechanism of EA. We established a diabetic rat model using streptozotocin and treated the rats with EA at the acupoints ST36 and EXB3. We examined fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels, spatial memory, neuronal pathological changes, and protein and mRNA expression of postsynaptic density protein-95 (PSD95) and synapsin I in the DG. EA treatment significantly reduced FBG levels in diabetic model rats, significantly improved spatial memory, increased the number of DG neurons, and upregulated the expression of the synaptic plasticity-related proteins PSD95 and synapsin I. Study findings suggest that EA treatment may improve spatial memory, with its potential mechanism being related to reducing FBG levels, increasing the number of DG neurons, and upregulating the expression of synaptic plasticity-related proteins PSD95 and synapsin I.
Wang et al. (2026) studied this question.