In vivo neuronal and astrocytic activation in somatosensory cortex by acupuncture stimuli

Acupuncture is a medical treatment that has been widely pra cticed in China for over 3000 years,yet the neural mechanisms of acupuncture are not fully understood.We hypothesized that neurons and astrocytes act independently and synergistically under acupuncture stimulation.To investigate this,we used two-photon in vivo calcium reco rding to observe the effects of acupuncture stimulation at ST36(Zusanli)in mice.Acupuncture stimulation in peripheral acupoints potentiated calcium signals of pyramidal neurons and astrocytes in the somatosensory cortex and resulted in late-onset calcium transients in astrocytes.Chemogenetic inhibition of neurons augmented the astrocytic activity.These findings suggest that acupuncture activates neuronal and astrocytic activity in the somatosensory co rtex and provide evidence for the involvement of both neurons and astrocytes in acupuncture treatment.

老年化对中国人认知过程影响的功能磁共振研究

目的比较本土中国人中的中老年人与青年人在执行默记单词和默识图片任务时fMRI监测到的大脑皮层反应区的差异。方法将符合入选条件的2 4名健康的右利志愿者,根据年龄分为青年组和中老年组,依据大脑半球不对称缩减模式,应用fMRI技术分别对其进行了命名单词和图片任务的研究。结果青年组执行任务所激活的脑区显著大于中老年组。老年化能导致认知能力下降,但同时又引起相应的代偿,因此,中老年人大脑的激活模式不如青年人的明确,显得较为杂乱。结论老年化是影响认知过程相关的神经激活模式的显著因素。