Yong Chun-Yan, Chen Shu, Chen Heng, Chu Xiao, Zhang Chao, Tan Cheng, Ye Lan, Li Jiang-Shan
Department of Integrative Medicine, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
School of Acupuncture and Massage, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
Neural Regen Res. 2016 Jun;11(6):971-6. doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.184497.
Sensory inputs stimulated by Zusanli (ST36) acupuncture in the abdomen are known to converge in the upper cervical cord. However, it is unclear whether these inputs are subsequently conveyed to the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus and what kind of afferent fibers are involved. We focused on the upper cervical cord, where afferent inputs converge, and detected c-fos expression in oxytocinergic neurons. We found that Zusanli acupuncture therapy effectively elevated intragastric pressure, but inhibited expression of c-fos in oxytocinergic neurons of the paraventricular nucleus in upper cervical cord injured rats. These Zusanli acupuncture effects remained even after complete dorsal cord transection. However, after complete transection of the spinal cord or dorsolateral funiculus, the effects were significantly attenuated and even disappeared. These findings suggest that the paraventricular nucleus is responsible for pooling and integrating signals from the Zusanli acupuncture and sensory information from the intragastric pressure variation, thereby contributing to the regulation of intragastric pressure. The upper cervical cord serves as the key link between ascending and descending pathways, which conveys afferent inputs to the paraventricular nucleus through the dorsolateral funiculus.
已知腹部足三里（ST36）针刺刺激产生的感觉输入会在上颈髓汇聚。然而，尚不清楚这些输入随后是否会传导至下丘脑室旁核以及涉及何种传入纤维。我们聚焦于传入输入汇聚的上颈髓，并检测了催产素能神经元中的c-fos表达。我们发现，足三里针刺疗法能有效升高胃内压，但抑制了上颈髓损伤大鼠室旁核催产素能神经元中c-fos的表达。即使在完全横断背侧脊髓后，这些足三里针刺效应依然存在。然而，在完全横断脊髓或背外侧索后，这些效应显著减弱甚至消失。这些发现表明，室旁核负责汇集和整合来自足三里针刺的信号以及胃内压变化的感觉信息，从而有助于胃内压的调节。上颈髓作为上行和下行通路之间的关键环节，通过背外侧索将传入输入传导至室旁核。
