Research Paper Volume 15, Issue 20 pp 11227—11243
Electroacupuncture pretreatment protects against anesthesia/surgery-induced cognitive decline by activating CREB via the ERK/MAPK pathway in the hippocampal CA1 region in aged rats
Figure 4. EA pretreatment ameliorates the anesthesia/surgery-induced impairment in synaptic plasticity in the hippocampal CA1 region in aged rats. (A) Representative hippocampal Golgi-Cox staining images showing dendritic arborization in the hippocampal CA1 region (scale bar: 100 μm or 20 μm for enlarged inserts) and diagram of dendritic Sholl analysis. (B–D) Quantitative analysis of total synaptic length, synaptic spine density and the number of intersections of dendrites in the CA1 region. (E) Analysis of local field potentials in the CA1 region in response to stimulation of Schafer lateral branch fibers. (F) Average fEPSP slope in the last 20 min (n = 3). (G) The expression of synaptophysin and PSD-95. Data are shown as means ± standard deviations. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01.