In this study, we investigated the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on extracellular levels of amino acid neurotransmitters (glutamate, aspartate, and taurine) in striatum and cerebral infarction dimensions in rats subjected to transient focal cerebral ischemia induced by 2 hours of middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion. EA (15 HZ, 6 mA), delivered to points of "Fengfu" (Du. 16) and "Jinsuo" (Du. 8), remarkably reduced the cerebral infarction volume. EA significantly decreased the ischemia-induced increase of extracellular aspartate level, while substantially enhancing the elevation of taurine induced by ischemia. These results indicated that the neuroprotective effect of EA against cerebral ischemia may be related to a bidirectional regulation of extracellular excitatory and inhibitory amino acid levels.
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