抄録
We have shown that electroacupuncture (EA) applied to the area over the abdomen and hindlimb modulates ovarian blood flow (OBF) in anesthetized rats. The present study aimed to further elucidate the role of the site and the frequency of EA stimulation and the influence of the estrous cycle on the OBF response using urethane-anesthetized rats. EA stimulation was applied to the abdominal or the hindlimb muscles at three different frequencies (2, 10, and 80 Hz) during the estrus or diestrus phase. Abdominal EA stimulation at 10 Hz increased OBF, while hindlimb EA stimulation at 10 Hz and abdominal and hindlimb EA stimulation at 80 Hz decreased the OBF; 2-Hz EA caused no OBF response. The OBF response to abdominal EA was more pronounced in the estrus than the diestrus phase. The OBF response to abdominal and hindlimb EA stimulation at both 10 Hz and 80 Hz was almost abolished, both after severance of the sympathetic nerves and after spinal cord transection. In conclusion, the OBF response to both abdominal and hindlimb EA stimulation was mediated as a reflex response via the ovarian sympathetic nerves, and the response was controlled via supraspinal pathways. Furthermore, the OBF response to segmental abdominal EA stimulation was frequency dependent and amplified in the estrous phase. [J Physiol Sci. 2007;57 Suppl:S238]
