c-fos Expression as a Marker of Functional Activity in the Brain: Immunohistochemistry

Acupuncture as a therapeutic intervention is widely practiced in the treatment of many functional disorders including alcohol abuse. In the present study, the effects of acupuncture on alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) and Fos-like immunoreactivity (FLI) in the striatum and the nucleus accumbens (NAC) of rats were investigated. During 3 days of cessation following chronic administration of ethanol (3 g/kg, i.p. for 3 weeks), rats showed a significant increase in AWS, such as hypermotility, tail rigidity, grooming and tremor, and an increase in FLI in the dopamine terminal areas of the brain. Treatment with acupuncture at zusanli (ST36) or sanyinjiao (SP6) during the withdrawal period inhibited both AWS and FLI of rats undergoing ethanol injection. These results suggest that acupuncture may be useful in the treatment of alcoholism by modulating post-synaptic neural activation in the striatum and NAC.

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Chronic Stress, Regulation of Emotion, and Functional Activity of the Brain

Stress: Concepts, Cognition, Emotion, and Behavior ◽

10.1016/b978-0-12-800951-2.00029-7 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 241-249 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

B.J. Ragen ◽

A.E. Roach ◽

C.L. Chollak

Keyword(s):

Chronic Stress ◽

Functional Activity ◽

Stress Regulation ◽

Regulation Of Emotion ◽

The Brain

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Fos expression in brain stem nuclei of pregnant rats after hydralazine-induced hypotension

AJP Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajpregu.1999.277.2.r532 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 277 (2) ◽

pp. R532-R540 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Kathleen S. Curtis ◽

J. Thomas Cunningham ◽

Cheryl M. Heesch

Keyword(s):

Area Postrema ◽

Virgin Female ◽

Female Rats ◽

Ventrolateral Medulla ◽

Pregnant Rats ◽

Induced Hypotension ◽

Central Response ◽

Vehicle Treatment ◽

Fos Expression ◽

The Brain

Fos and dopamine β-hydroxylase immunoreactivity were evaluated in the brain stems of 21-day pregnant and virgin female rats injected with either hydralazine (HDZ; 10 mg/kg iv) or vehicle. HDZ produced significant hypotension in both groups, although baseline blood pressure was lower in pregnant rats (96 ± 2.5 mmHg) than in virgin female rats (121 ± 2.8 mmHg). There were no differences in Fos immunoreactivity in the brain stems of pregnant and virgin female rats after vehicle treatment. HDZ-induced hypotension significantly increased Fos expression in both groups; however, the magnitude of the increases differed in the caudal ventrolateral medulla (CVL), the area postrema (AP), and the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVL). Fos expression after HDZ in pregnant rats was augmented in noncatecholaminergic neurons of the CVL but was attenuated in the AP and in noncatecholaminergic neurons in the RVL. These results are consistent with differences in the sympathetic response to hypotension between pregnant and virgin female rats and indicate that the central response to hypotension may be different in pregnant rats.

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