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

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Figure 7. Inhibition of the MAPK/ERK/CREB pathway in the CA1 region reduces the ability of EA to improve synaptic plasticity. (A) Representative hippocampal Golgi-Cox staining images showing dendritic arborization in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons (scale bar: 100 μm, or 20 μm for enlarged inserts) and diagram of dendritic Sholl analysis. (BD) Quantitative analysis of total synaptic length, synaptic spine density and the number of intersections of dendrites (analyzed by repeated measures t-test, with corrected p-values) in CA1 pyramidal neurons. (E) Average fEPSP slope in the last 20 min. (F) Analysis of local field potentials in the CA1 region in response to stimulation of Schafer lateral branch fibers. The expression of p-CREB and CREB (G). The expression of synaptophysin and PSD-95 (H). Data are shown as means ± standard deviations. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01.