The relationship between the improvement of Han′s acupuncture on the learning and memory disorder of heroin-dependent rats and hippocampus NOS and AchE

Objective To make a preliminary discussion of the effect of Han′s acupuncture stimulation on improving the learning and memory disorder of heroin-dependent rats and investigate its potential mechanisms.Methods Animal model of drug addiction was established by subcutaneous injection of heroin in rats twice a day for 9 days,according to the principle of increasing daily dose.The ability of special learning and memory was assessed with Morris Water Maze behavioral test for the changes from addiction to the improvement by acupuncture treatment.Total protein quantification kit(Coomassie brilliant blue) was used to detect the activity of nitric oxide synthase(NOS) and AchE in rat hippocampus.Results ①Compared with the Control group,the mean escape latency in place navigation of the Model group was markedly prolonged(P0.05),while that in the Acupuncture group was shortened noticeably compared with the Model group(P0.05).In space probe test,the mean exploring time of the fourth quadrant and the times of crossing the island within 120 s of the Model group markedly decreased,compared with the Control group(P0.05),while those of the Acupuncture group markedly increased,compared with the Model group(P0.05).②The activity of the NOS and AchE in rat hippocampus of the Model group was higher than the Control group(P0.05),while that of the Acupuncture group was lower than the Model group(P0.05),there was no obvious difference between the Control and the Acupuncture groups,though.Conclusion Han′s acupuncture stimulation can improve the ability of the learning and memory of heroin-dependent rats and decrease the activity of NOS and AchE in hippocampus induced by heroin addiction.