Key result
Electroacupuncture improves depressive behaviors and neuronal activity in post-stroke depression mice via the 5-HT system.
Why the study?
Post-stroke depression has high prevalence with limited Western medical treatment breakthroughs, and although traditional acupuncture is effective, its mechanism remains to be elucidated.
Does electroacupuncture at GV20 and GV24 acupoints improve depressive-like behaviors and mPFC neuronal electrophysiological activity via the 5-HT system in a mouse model of post-stroke depression?
Does electroacupuncture at GV20 and GV24 acupoints improve depressive-like behaviors and mPFC neuronal electrophysiological activity via the 5-HT system in a mouse model of post-stroke depression?
In a preclinical mouse model of post-stroke depression, electroacupuncture at GV20 and GV24 improved depressive-like behaviors and mPFC neuronal activity comparably to fluoxetine through a mechanism requiring intact 5-HT projections from the dorsal raphe nucleus.
Hypothesis-generating in post-stroke depression models; does not support clinical use of electroacupuncture pending human trials.
The prevalence of depression is as high as about 30% within five years after stroke, while there is still no breakthrough in the Western medical treatments for post-stroke depression (PSD) in clinical practice. The traditional acupuncture treatment has been practiced to be effective for the therapy of PSD, but its mechanism still needs to be elucidated. With a combination of methods, including behavioral testing, immunofluorescence, in vivo electrophysiological recording, mRNA sequencing, genetic modulation, and in vivo fiber recording techniques, this study showed that electroacupuncture (EA) at Baihui (GV20) and Shenting (GV24) acupoints improved the depressive-like behaviors and neuronal electrophysiological activities in PSD model mice, which was established by bilateral injection of collagenase IV into the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Moreover, it was found that the EA-mediated improvement was comparable to that of fluoxetine. The mRNA sequence analysis indicated that the 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) system was involved in the pathogenesis of PSD. Meanwhile, the number of 5-HT positive neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) and 5-HT in the mPFC was significantly decreased, and ablation of neurons in the DRN could prevent the efficacy of EA. The neuronal activity of excitatory and inhibitory neurons in mPFC can be modulated by chemogenetic activation or inhibition of the TPH2-positive neurons in the DRN projecting to the mPFC. Together, our results have provided the insight of the biological mechanism underlying acupuncture in the treatment of PSD and revealed the scientific connotation of acupuncture in both clinical and scientific value.
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Deng et al. (2025) studied Post-stroke depression (PSD). Electroacupuncture (EA) at Baihui (GV20) and Shenting (GV24) vs. Sham EA, Fluoxetine, or Control (ACSF) was evaluated on Depressive-like behaviors (OFT, FST, TST, SPT) and neuronal electrophysiological activities. Electroacupuncture at GV20 and GV24 acupoints improved depressive-like behaviors and neuronal electrophysiological activities in post-stroke depression model mice via the 5-HT system.
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