Zhen Ci Yan Jiu. 1991 ; 16(2): 100-2.

[Effect of acupuncture analgesia on synapses of paraventricular nucleus observed with transmission electron microscope]

Luo M, Wang P, Yang Y.

Institute of Acupuncture, China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing.

In order to study the ultrastructural change of the paraventricular nucleus of hypothalamus during the electro-acupuncture, 13 healthy and adult rats were divided into control group and electro-acupuncture group. The results are as follows: 1. The synapses of the paraventricular nucleus mainly belong to the axodendricular asymmetrical synapses and contain a lot of round clear synaptic vesicles. 2. The round clear synaptic vesicles of the paraventricular nucleus in the electro-acupuncture group are much fewer than those in the control group. The difference is very significant (P less than 0.01). This suggests that the paraventricular nucleus is involved in the electroacupuncture analgesia.