A Study Of Gender Differences In The Brain Activation Zone Of Acupuncture Tai Chong Acupoint Based On FMRI Technique Peeking

ObjectiveTo focus on meridian function research and apply functional magnetic resonance image(fMRI)technology to investigate the differences in brain activation zone changes during hand acupuncture at the Tai Chong point(LR3)in healthy subjects of different genders.MethodsA total of 55 young male volunteers and young female volunteers were screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria,including 25 cases in the young female group and 30 cases in the young male group.General data were collected from the subjects after sufficient rest,and the scan was performed after informing the detailed requirements and precautions during the test;the acupoint of Tai Chong(LR3)was selected,and after routine sterilization,the acupoint was pierced 0.5 inch directly,and the acupoint was acted on with 2 techniques: static retention needle and twisting method,and the twisting method was used to flatten and flatten the diarrhea,twisting left and right,with a twisting angle of 180°±5° and a frequency of 60 times/min.before the start of the scan Acupuncture was performed before the start of the scan,and the scan was started after acupuncture was obtained,and task state fMRI data were collected.The test was performed in a multi-block design mode,i.e.,30 s "resting" and 30 s "task" alternately,with 20 s resting data added in front and removed in the later analysis to avoid the influence of unstable data at the beginning of the scan.Finally,the corresponding data were processed with SPM12 software on Matlab 2017 b platform,and the images obtained were processed with xj View and Brain Net Viewer software,with P<0.001 for single group voxel level,P<0.05 for cluster level(FWE correction),P<0.05 for intergroup voxel level,and voxel number >200;since there were five seed points,the results were based on a strict multiple comparison correction with significant differences at P<0.01,for each brain map,we applied a multiple comparison correction based on cluster level,with P<0.01 for voxel level and P<0.001 for cluster level considered as significant between-group differences.The spontaneous activity of brain regions during acupuncture was calculated separately for the two groups and the activated brain regions that differed between the two groups.Results1.fMRI results showed that the brain areas activated by acupuncture in the female group were the left inferior cerebellar gyrus,the right superior limbic gyrus,and the left postcentral gyrus;the brain areas activated in the male group were the right superior limbic gyrus,the left central gyri,and the right paracentral lobule.Compared with the female group,the male group showed increased activation levels in the right supramarginal gyrus and right paracentral lobule.2.Based on the seed point connectivity analysis,it was found that the functional connectivity between the left anterior cingulate gyrus and the left caudate nucleus,right medial and paracentral cingulate gyrus,and right posterior cingulate gyrus was enhanced in the female group compared with the male group;the functional connectivity between the right anterior cingulate gyrus and the left posterior cingulate gyrus was enhanced;the functional connectivity between the left thalamus and the caudate nucleus,lingual gyrus,right precuneus,left perisylvian fissure cortex,left postcentral gyrus,and left supplementary motor area was The right thalamus had enhanced functional connectivity with the left perirhinal cortex,left precuneus,left paracentral lobule,right posterior cingulate gyrus,and right lingual gyrus.The functional connections between the right superior limbic gyrus and the right cerebellum,the right medial and paracentral cingulate gyrus,and the right nucleus accumbens were enhanced.Conclusion1.the activation of brain regions by acupuncture in subjects with tai-chong acupoints was not completely symmetrical,indicating that the acupuncture effect was lateralized in the brain;2.Gender differences in brain activity responses to manual acupuncture at the Tai chong acupoint existed,with females focusing more on enhanced functional connectivity in the brain functional networks of visual function,associative function,and emotional cognition.