The FMRI Comparative Study Of Electroacupuncture Bailao (EX-HN15) And Zhongzhu (SJ3) Acupoints Within Healthy Volunteers

BackgroundIn recent years, acupuncture as an effective treatment is increasingly recognized by the international community. Lack of the direct scientific theory support of clinical research contrast, physiological mechanism of science of acupuncture and moxibustion has not been elaborated and acupuncture principle has not been explained by use of modern medical theory. This requires the further study to distinct the role of acupuncture in the physical condition and mechanisms of its achieving the effect. Acupoint relatively specificity research is the basic of study different functions of channel and point and is the key to match the cave in the clinical, which to play a crucial role in acupuncture the clinical effect. This research will use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology to observe the differences of effects in the specific ribbon by needling local and remote acupoint of the health and explore the role of acupoint relatively specificity.ObjectiveThe study will adopt common points of cervical spondylosis, in order to observe the role of the brain limbic system, paralimbic structures and pallium by needling local and remote acupoint of the health by fMRI technology and to explore the role of matching far and near acupoint relatively specificity and the central mechanism.Method 20 appropriate healthy young volunteers from Guangzhou university received EX-HN15 Ac and EX-HN15+SJ3 Ac randomly, which to neddle all right acupoints, use acusector on basic of acuesthesia, dilatational wave, and withdraw needles after 30 minutes. the resting-state fMRI data were acquired before and 5 min after the withdraw of AC. ALFF of encephalic regions were calculated using REST software and one-sample t-test analys is was performed on the intragroup data acquired after Ac by statistical parametric mapping 5 (SPM5), to get the maps of ALFF changes induced by EX-HN15 Ac and EX-HN15+SJ3 Ac respectively for analyzing the difference between them finally.Result1. Compared with the before acupuncture, EA EX-HN15 and EX-HN15+SJ3 points can cause significant changes of ALFF, including cerebral cortex (involved in frontotemporal and parietooccipital) and the limbic system, etc, which show that acupuncture points raised two sets of neural activity in the brain.2. EA EX-HN15 in healthy volunteers evokes deactivation of ALFF of the right Rectus lobe, orbital frontal gyrus, left posterior cingulate, left precuneus. Deactivation of MPFC(the Rectus lobe, orbital frontal gyrus)and MPC(posterior cingulate, precuneus) suggest the presence of DMN. Activation of the right precentral gyrus, insula, supplementary motor area, the left anterior cingulate gyrus, antero-middle cingulate and Middle cingulate gyrus in terms of regard as anti-correlated network of DMN.3. EA EX-HN15 and SJ3 in healthy volunteers induce deactivation of ALFF of the right precuneus, supplementary motor area, paracentral lobule, thalamus, rectus frontal, the medial orbital frontal, MPFC(rectus frontal, the medial orbital frontal)and MPC(precuneus) further suggest the existence of DMN. Contrary to EA EX-HN15.deactivation of supplementary motor area may be attributed to synergistic effect of EA EX-HN15 and SJ3.In addition, signal increases of ALFF occurred in the left middle temporal pole, precuneus, middle orbital frontal, inferior orbital frontal, the right superior orbital frontal.4. The study also showed that differences do exist between the two groups. Relative to EA EX-HN15, deactivation of ALFF of the right precuneus, left hippocampus, parahippocampus gyrus,right anterior cingulate gyrus, paracentral lobule, postcentral lobule, thalamus by EA EX-HN15 and SJ3. Precuneus, hippocampus and parahippocampus gyrus belonging to limbic-paralimbic-neocortical network(LPNN), their extensive inhibition further confirmed of the presence of DMN.ConclusionBrain's default mode and its anti-correlated network by EA EA EX-HN15 and SJ3 may exist. However, some brain regions is different from previous studies. The mechanism underlying the extensive deactivation of the LPNN/DMN by acupuncture is unclear, but inhibition of LPNN suggest that it involved in the acupuncture analgesia. Through this study,we hypothesize that modulation of Brain's default and its anti-correlated network may be an important mechanism by which acupuncture exerts its complex multisystem effects.