Acupuncture intervening depressive disorder: research progress in its neurobiological mechanism

AbstractDepressive disorder seriously affects people ’s physical and mental health. Acupuncture is a safe and effective treatment for depression, yet, its mechanism is unclear. Therefore, acupuncture’s action mechanism in intervening depression was summarized from several perspectives, including morphology and ultrastructure of neurons in depressi on-related brain areas, function and structure of glial cells, brain functional and structural connectivity, and neuroelectrophysiology. It’s discovered that acupuncture can repair the morphological and ultrastructural damage of neurons in the hippocampus and prefrontal lobe, mitigate the function al and structural injuries of glial cells in the hippocampus and prefrontal lobe, strengthen functional connectivity and heal structural connection, and promote neuroelectrophysiological activities, which possibly are the principal mechanisms of how acupuncture works in intervening depressive disord er.
Source: Journal of Acupuncture and Tuina Science - Category: Complementary Medicine Source Type: research