Brain plasticity is referred to the ability of the brain to change in structure and functional activities from microscopic aspects(synapses)in individual neurons to larger-scale aspects such as cortical remapping

neuronal remodeling

etc.in response to injury.Acupuncture has a positive effect in the treatment of cerebral diseases

thus leading to an increasing research on its underlying mechanisms in regulating brain plasticity.The present paper reviewed recent development of studies on acupuncture treatment of Alzheimer's disease

vascular dementia

cerebral ischemia

bone cancer pain

autism

etc.from 1)regulating synaptic plasticity(up-regulating the proportion of hippocampal synapses

increasing synaptic curvature

post-synaptic density

and numerical density

areal density

and lowering synaptic cleft);2)increasing hippocampal post-synaptic potential slop

peak and peak area of population spikes to evoke long-term potentiation(LTP)by regulating the expression of glutamate N-methyl-Daspartate(NMDA)and alpha amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionic acid(AMPA)receptors

and growth associated protein(GAP-43);3)down-regulating the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP)to suppress the activity of astrocytes in the ischemic cerebral area and hippocampus in cerebral ischemia rats

and in the spinal cord dorsal horns of bone cancer rats

etc.and promoting vimentin and connexin 43 expression;and 4)promoting neuronal remodeling

and repair and regeneration of the injured nerve in the central nervous system via regulating neuron-glia network

expression of nerve growth factor

brain derived neurotrophic factor

etc.The future studies should pay more attention to 1)the contribution of acupuncture intervention to the correlation between the initiation of the endogenous protective effect and the brain plasticity during the onset of nerve injury and repair of the injured nerve

and 2)standarization of stimulating quantity

manipulation and duration of acupuncture treatment

as well as the relationship between the stimulating quantity and efficacy.