ABSTRACT
Objective To observe the effects of acupuncture at "Sanyinjiao" (SP6) and "Baihui" (GV20) on behaviors and contents of monoamine neurotransmitter dopamine (DA), noradrenalin (NE) and 5-hydroxytrypamine (5-HT) in prefrontal cortex (PFC) of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) rats; To discuss mechanism of action of acupuncture for prevention and treatment of ADHD. Methods 4-week-old SHR rats were randomly divided into the model group, Western medicine group and acupuncture group, and WKY rats with the same age were selected as the normal control group, with 10 rats in each group. Acupuncture was applied to "Sanyinjiao" (SP6) and "Baihui" (GV20) of rats in acupuncture group for 15 min. The rats in Western medicine group was given MPH (ritalin) for gavage, and rats were treated for 4 weeks in the dark-phase. Open field test (OFT), elevated plus maze (EPM) and novel object recognition test (NORT) were conducted to evaluate the spontaneous activity, impulsivity and learning-memorial ability of rats individually at the end of treatment. Contents of DA, NE and 5-HT in PFC were detected by HPLC. Results Compared with the normal control group, all of the behavior parameters of rats in model group were significantly higher (P＜0.05), and the contents of DA, NE and 5-HT in PFC of model group were lower than those of normal control group (P＜0.05). Compared with the model group, acupuncture group showed shorter movement distance, less rearing and fewer grooming activities in the OFT; percentages of times of entering the open arms and staying duration were reduced in the total period in the EPM; preference index in the NORT was elevated (P＜0.05); the contents of NE and 5-HT in PFC of acupuncture group increased significantly (P＜0.05). Conclusion Acupuncture at "Sanyinjiao" (SP6) and "Baihui" (GV20) canreduce the spontaneous activity and impulsivity, and improve learning and memory ability of ADHD model rats, which may be related to elevated contents of NE and 5-HT in the PFC.