Department of Physiology, College of Korean Medicine, Daegu Haany University, Daegu, South Korea.
Department of Human Anatomy and Histoembryolgy, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
Addict Biol. 2021 Nov;26(6):e13052. doi: 10.1111/adb.13052. Epub 2021 May 10.
The rostromedial tegmental nucleus (RMTg), a GABAergic afferent to midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons, has emerged as an integral player in both rewarding and nociceptive responses. While previous studies have demonstrated that acupuncture modulates DA transmission in the mesolimbic reward system originating in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and projecting to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and can reduce drug self-administration, the central links between peripheral acupuncture signals and brain reward systems are not well-characterized. Thus, we hypothesised that acupuncture would elicit inhibitory signals from RMTg neurons to brain reward systems. Acupuncture reduced acute cocaine-induced locomotor activity and DA release in a point-specific manner, which was blocked by optogenetic silencing or chemical lesion of the RMTg. The acupuncture effect was mimicked by chemical activation of the RMTg. Acupuncture activated RMTg GABA neurons. In addition, the inhibitory effects of acupuncture on acute cocaine-induced locomotor activity were prevented by electrolytic lesions of the lateral habenula (LHb) or fasciculus retroflexus (FR), areas known to project to the RMTg. These findings suggest that acupuncture recruits the RMTg to reduce the psychomotor responses enhanced by acute cocaine.
中脑导水管周围灰质腹侧部（RMTg）是中脑多巴胺（DA）神经元的 GABA 能传入，它已成为奖赏和伤害感受反应的重要参与者。虽然之前的研究表明针刺调节源自腹侧被盖区（VTA）并投射到伏隔核（NAc）的中脑奖赏系统中的 DA 传递，并能减少药物自我给药，但外周针刺信号与大脑奖赏系统之间的中枢联系尚未得到很好的描述。因此，我们假设针刺会从 RMTg 神经元发出抑制信号到大脑奖赏系统。针刺以特定的方式减少急性可卡因诱导的运动活动和 DA 释放，这种作用可被 RMTg 的光遗传学沉默或化学损伤阻断。RMTg 的化学激活模拟了针刺的效果。针刺激活了 RMTg 的 GABA 神经元。此外，外侧缰核（LHb）或折返束（FR）的电解损伤可预防针刺对急性可卡因诱导的运动活动的抑制作用，这两个区域已知投射到 RMTg。这些发现表明，针刺募集 RMTg 以减少急性可卡因增强的精神运动反应。
