CAUDATE NUCLEUS AND ACUPUNCTURE ANALGESIA

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Abstract
Stimulation of the caudate nucleus in man was able to relieve intractable pain due to late malignancies, and the analgesia was similar in some aspects to that produced by acupuncture. Experiments performed on rabbits demonstrated that caudate stimulation raised pain threshold and enhanced electroacupuncture analgesia (EA), while caudate lesion resulted in its attenuation. Electroacupuncture could modulate the activity of the caudate neurons sensitive to acetylcholine (ACh), serotonin (5-HT) or dopamine (DA). 6-hydroxydopamine, which destroys the dopaminergic terminals, enhanced EA after microinjection into the anterior portion of the caudate nucleus. Scopolamine, which blocks the cholinergic activity, reduced EA. The morphine antagonist naloxone, microinjected into the caudate nucleus, brought forth a partial reversal of EA. Naloxone administrated intravenously reversed the acupuncture effect of decreasing cAMP content in the caudate perfusate. The content of enkephalins in the rat’s striatum was increased after EA, as estimated by radioimmunoassay. These results suggest that the caudate nucleus is one of the important CNS links in acupuncture analgesia and that intracaudate ACh, DA and endorphins are closely related to mechanisms underlying acupuncture analgesia.

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