RESEARCH ARTICLE Acupoint specificity on ac y

Hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) contains the main nuclei that secrete stress hormones. Particularlly, the stimulate the pituitary gland to secrete adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). ACTH enters blood circulation and Wang et al. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2015) 15:87 DOI 10.1186/s12906-015-0625-4are widely distributed in the central nervous system [4].China Full list of author information is available at the end of the articleparavicellular subnucleus of PVN contains numerous neu-rons roducing corticotripin releasing hormone (CRH), enkephalin, or thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH). These hormones are the principal components of stress re-sponses through hypothalamus-hypophysis axis [1]. When the stressor arrives at PVN neurons, CRH neurons acts on the adrenal gland to promote the synthesis and se-cretion of glucocorticoids. The exogenous glucocorticoids regulate the secretion of CRH from PVN via feedback regulation on hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenal cortex axis (HPAA), reduce stress response, influence responses in hippocampus and other limbic system, and impact the arousal, cognition and affection [2,3]. The negative feed-back regulation of glucocorticoid on HPAA is achieved via acting on the GR and mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) tha