CASP3 and Cerebral ischemia: Our previous studies have revealed that EA (5 Hz, 2.7–3.0 mA) stimulation at the GV14 and GV20 acupoints exerts neuroprotective effects against cerebral I/R-induced apoptosis by up-regulating BDNF/ERK1/2-mediated signaling (21) and down-regulating p38 MAPK/nuclear factor-κB/cleaved caspase-3-mediated signaling (22) in the peri-infarct region during the subacute phase of cerebral ischemia.