关键词: 神经再生, 中医药, 针刺, 足三里, 高位颈髓, 背索, 背外侧索, 下丘脑室旁核, 催产素能神经元, 胃内压, 免疫组织化学双染技术, 神经通路

Abstract:

Sensory inputs stimulated by Zusanli (ST36) acupuncture in the abdomen are known to converge in the upper cervical cord. However, it is unclear whether these inputs are subsequently conveyed to the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus and what kind of afferent fibers are involved. We focused on the upper cervical cord, where afferent inputs converge, and detected c-fos expression in oxytocinergic neurons. We found that Zusanli acupuncture therapy effectively elevated intragastric pressure, but inhibited expression of c-fos in oxytocinergic neurons of the paraventricular nucleus in upper cervical cord injured rats. These Zusanli acupuncture effects remained even after complete dorsal cord transection. However, after complete transection of the spinal cord or dorsolateral funiculus, the effects were significantly attenuated and even disappeared. These findings suggest that the paraventricular nucleus is responsible for pooling and integrating signals from the Zusanli acupuncture and sensory information from the intragastric pressure variation, thereby contributing to the regulation of intragastric pressure. The upper cervical cord serves as the key link between ascending and descending pathways, which conveys afferent inputs to the paraventricular nucleus through the dorsolateral funiculus

Key words: " nerve regeneration, traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, Zusanli (ST36), upper cervical cord, dorsolateral funiculus, dorsal cord, hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus, intragastric pressure, immunohistochemical double staining, nervous pathway, neural regeneration