A: Western blotting was performed to analyze the expression of AKT, mTOR and p70S6K in the hippocampal tissues (n = 3). Electroacupuncture (20 Hz, 1 mA) was applied 15 min/d for 7 d. B: quantitative analysis of AKT, mTOR and p70S6K protein. AKT: protein kinase B; mTOR: mechanistic target of rapamycin. One-way analysis of variance was used for comparisons between multiple groups. If the overall difference was statistically significant, the least significant difference t-test was used for further pairwise comparisons. Data were presented as mean ± standard deviation (n = 3). Compared with the normal group, aP < 0.01; compared with the sleep deprivation group, bP < 0.05.