Hoku With Orofacial Functions Contact - The Human Brain Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

ObjectiveTo observe the influence of needling Hegu (LI4) on brain function with Yinlingquan (SP9) as control, and to explore the morphologic and functional proof for the relationship between LI4 and mouth-face, so as to bring into light the mechanism of acupuncture and the function essence of acupoint partly, to figure out primarily the nervous informatic basis for the connection and regulation effect of meridian in communicating the upper and lower part of the body, and in a certain extent to reflect the relation between meridian of TCM and modern neurology. The study can make for improving the modernization of acupuncture and clinical therapeutic effect.Methods1. Twelve healthy volunteers were acupunctured at LI4 on the right (dominant) side with electroacupuncture (EA) intermittently, at the same time, their boold oxygenation level dependent functional magnetic resonance signals were collected. Using MEDx and AFNl software package, the signal intensity changes of the resting period and the acupunture period were compared and the visible images of brain function when stimulating LI4 were obtained.2.Half of the testees which had already been acupunctured at LI4 were then acupunctured at SP9 on the right side with the same stimulation way and intensity. Effects of EA at LI4 and SP9 on the brain function were compared.3.The other half of the testees which had already been acupunctured at LI4 were then acupunctured at the facial point of non-acupoint on the right side with the same way and intensity. Effects of EA at LI4 and facial point of non-acupoint on the brain function were compared. Results1.EA at LI4 brought about excitement on both the hand representation and the face representation of counterlateral primary somatosensory cortex, and the excited cortex part was greatly close to the excited part which was caused by acupuncturing the facial point of the same side, and even showed superposition. Besides, EA on LI4 caused excitement of the collateral somatosensory cortex.2.EA at LI4 activated a number of parts in the passage of central painmodulation, eg. restrained the midline nuclear group of bilateral dorsal thalamus and the anterior of counterlateral cingulate gyrus, excited or inhibited some parts of counterlateral prefrontal lobe cortex.3.EA at LI4 led to excitement of several cortex regions related to motor, including primary motor cortex, motor preposition, supplementary motor, superior parietal lobule and inferior parietal lobule.4.There was marked difference between the effects of EA at LI4 and SP9 on brain function. Besides exciting leg representation on counterlateral primary somatosensory cortex, EA at SP9 mainly influenced several parts in limbic system including inhibiting bilateral amygdaloid bodies, bilateral prefrontal orbital gyri and counterlateral hippocampus, and exciting the anterior and the body part of collateral cingulate gyrus and counterlateral prefrontal lobe cortex.5.When stimulating facial point of non-acupoint with the same mode and intensity, the testees had no sense of getting Qi, and by f-MRI there was only faint local excitement on the facial representation of primary somatosensory cortex with no changes of the whole brain function. Conclusions1. By means of brain functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI) the effect of acupuncture on brain function can dynamically be observed for f-MRI is repeatable with no injury to the body, becoming a rather ideal way of study on acupuncture. The study indicated that non-magnetic needle was feasible and safe to stimulate face when f-MRI study was confined to a certain intensity of magnetic field and electric current.2.Acupoint has particular physiologic function. Stimulation at acupoint leads to regulation on the whole function of central nervous system while stimulation at point of non-meridian nor acupoint does not.3.Effect of stimulation at acupoint on the brain function is unique, which is closely related with the function. Regulating the function of central nervous system is one of the important mechanism of acupuncture.4. The function...