Fig. 4

Effects of EA on morphological changes in the hippocampal CA1 area. a HE staining of hippocampal CA1 area. Upper lane, Scale bar = 100 μm, magnification ×200. (the inside area of the red black rectangle. Scale bar = 50 μm, magnification ×400). The pyramidal neurons in the CA1 area of the hippocampus controls had spherical and plump nuclei, clear nucleoli, and cytoplasm. The model group hippocampus neurons were loosely packed, fusiform or polygonal in shape, with irregular nuclei. Some of the neurons displayed karyopyknosis, hyperchromatic cytoplasm, and fuzzy or missing nucleoli. These morphological alterations were greatly improved in the EA, rapamycin, and EA+3-MA groups, with the EA group showing the greatest improvement. b Comparison of the number of normal cells in all groups. Data are expressed as mean ± standard error of the mean (n = 8 in each group). *p < 0.05 versus control group; ^#p < 0.05 versus model group; ^△p < 0.05 versus EA group