Effects of acupuncture in combination with exercise on learning, memory and the expression of microtubuleassociated protein-2 in the hippocampal CA3 region after experimental focal cerebral infarction in rats / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the expression of microtubule-associated protein-2 (MAP-2) in the CA3 region of the hippocampus and any effect of acupuncture combined with exercise training on the recovery of learning and memory after experimental cerebral infarction.Methods Eighty Wistar rats were randomly divided into a sham-operation group (n = 8 ) and an operation group (n = 72 ) subdivided randomly and equally into a model group, an exercisetraining group and an acupuncture plus exercise training group, with 24 rats in each group. After right middle cerebral artery occlusion or a mock operation, the expression of MAP-2 in the CA3 region of the hippocampus was detected with immunohistochemistry 1, 3 and 5 weeks after the operation. Learning and memory function was assessed at the 5th week post operation.Results MAP-2- positive fibers were arranged in an orderly way and distributed densely in the shamoperation group. After cerebral infarction, number of MAP-2 positive neurons and dendrite fibers decreased in the CA3 region of the affected side. A week after the operation, MAP-2 positive fibers had increased significantly in the acupuncture plus exercise group compared with the model group and the exercise group. At the 3rd and 5th week post operation, expression of MAP-2 and optical density had increased significantly compared with the model group and the exercise training group. At the 5th week post operation, Y maze discrimination and learning tests showed that learning and memory had improved significantly more in the acupuncture plus exercise training group compared with the model group and the exercise training group.Conclusions Exercise training combined with acupuncture can promote changes in dendritic plasticity and increase MAP-2 expression in the CA3 region after cerebral infarction. This may be correlated positively with the recovery of learning and memory after cerebral infarction, at least in rats.