| Objective:To analyze the changes in the brain functional network connections after acupuncture in healthy volunteers by using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI)and electroencephalography(EEG),and to investigate the change rules of the brain network connections and the differences of the brain function under the different analysis methods after acupuncture.Methods:EEG and Echo planar imaging(EPI)technology which can obtain the contrast signal of the blood oxygen level dependent(BOLD)were use to In this study,and two clinically important points of human body,namely the Yuan point-Taixi(KI3)of the Kidney Meridian of Foot-Shaoyin and the Yuan point-Jinggu(BL64)of the Bladder Meridian of Foot-Taiyang,were selected for acupuncture study.Eighty healthy adults aged 18-40 years were included in the study and randomly divided into four groups according to the order of participation,namely group A: taixi +fMRI group,group B: jinggu +fMRI group,group C: taixi +EEG group,and group D: jinggu +EEG group.There were 20 cases in each group.All subjects received fMRI or EEG data in the resting state of 10 minutes according to the groups before acupuncture.Then the acupuncture was performed for 3 minutes and the needles were delivered.After the acupuncture was completed,fMRI or EEG data were collected again for 10 minutes.After all the data collection was completed,we conducted the following analysis:1.Regional Homogeneity(ReHo)analysis was used to explore the differences of the active brain regions before and after acupuncture;2.The different brain regions of ReHo were used as seed points to explore the effect of acupuncture on the network connection of the whole brain;3.A meta-analysis was conducted on the differences of ReHo brain regions before and after acupuncture to indirectly obtain the neurological functions of brain regions affected by acupuncturing;4.The large scale network connection analysis was performed on fMRI data,by using the Power264 template node.The EEG data were analyzed as follows:1.After the acupuncture EEG data were collected,the EEG data with no obvious interference pre-acupuncture and after acupuncture were intercepted for data analysis in each 60 s.The LORETA Key software was used to analyze the difference of potential distribution in various frequency bands before and after acupuncture,to determine the frequency band with the greatest difference,and the EEG data in this frequency band was used for the large-scale network connection analysis.2.The large scale network connection analysis was performed on EEG data,by using the Power264 template node.Results:1.ReHo analysis:Compared with the resting state before acupuncture,the influence of acupuncture acupoints on brain regions was mainly concentrated in the cerebral cortex:The brain areas affected by acupuncture after taixi point or jinggu point were all concentrated in the central posterior gyrus,and the effects of acupuncture on jinggu acupoint were also found in the occipital lobe and the temporal lobe(P<0.05).2.The whole brain connectivity analysis:Acupuncture at taixi or jinggu points had different effects on the connection between the cortical region and the subcortical region and the interest region,after acupuncture at taixi or jinggu points,the connections between the subcortical areas such as cerebellum and the interest areas were enhanced,but the connections between the cortical regions such as the central posterior gyrus and the interest areas were weakened.The difference between the two was that the connections between the caudatus nucleus and the interest areas was enhanced after acupuncture at taixi point,while the functional connections between the posterior cingulate gyrus and the interest areas was enhanced at jinggu point(P<0.05).3.The functional analysis of the differences of ReHo brain regions:The functions of the differences of ReHo brain regions are related to neural functions such as behavior,perception and cognition.4.EEG current source density analysis:Compared with the resting state,after acupuncture at taixi,the current source density of the cuneus gyrus and the lingual gyrus in the delta frequency band significantly reduced;After acupuncture at jinggu,the difference was also the most significant in the delta band compared with the resting state.The brain regions with the most significant decrease in the current source density value were distributed in the middle temporal gyrus and the inferior temporal gyrus(P<0.05).5.The large-scale network connection analysis:After acupuncture at taixi point or jinggu point,both fMRI and EEG results show significant changes in large-scale brain functional networks.There is not only a strengthening of brain network connections,but also a weakening of brain network connections.6.The analysis of the average within network connections in the large scale network:Both fMRI and EEG results showed that after acupuncture at taixi or jinggu points,average within network connections of multiple subnetworks were weakened:(1)According to fMRI data,after acupuncture at taixi point,average within network connections such as the sensory/somatomotor network,auditory network,Salience network and dorsal attention network,were decreased.According to EEG data,only average within network connections of the ventral attention network and cingulo-opercular network were decreased(P<0.05);(2)After acupuncture at jinggu point,according to fMRI data,average within network connections such as the sensory/somatomotor network and ventral attention network,were decreased,however,EEG results showed that average within network connections of the salience network was decreased(P<0.05).7.The analysis of the average between network connections among subnetworks:(1)For the group of taixi,after acupuncture,the fMRI results indicated that the average between network connections between the sensory/somatomotor network,cerebellar network,auditory network,visual network,dorsal attention network,cingulo-opercular network and the subcortical network was significantly enhanced(P<0.05).Meanwhile,the connections,between the default mode network,ventral attention network and the auditory network,the salience network and the dorsal attention network,were significantly weakened(P<0.05).(2)However,after acupuncture at taixi point,the EEG results showed that the average between network connec-tions,between the auditory network,default mode network and the sensory/somatomotor network,the auditory network,attention network and the visual network,the auditory network and the ventral attention network,were weakened(P<0.05).(3)For jinggu point,after acupuncture,fMRI dates showed that the connections of each subnetwork were significantly differen,the connections between the salience network and the default mode network,the dorsal attention network,auditory network,visual network,default mode network and the sensory/somatomotor network,were weakened.But the connections between the auditory network,visual network,dorsal attention network,cerebellar network and the subcortical network,the sensory/ somatomotor network and the subcortical network were enhanced(P<0.05).(4)According to the results of EEG analysis,the average between network connections with differences after acupuncture in jinggu were significantly reduced compared with fMRI,the connections with a significant difference were only in the sensory/somatomotor network and the visual network,the cingulo-opercular network and the cerebellar network,the visual network and the fronto-parietal control network,and the visual network and the ventral attention network(P<0.05).Conclusion:1.the differences of ReHo brain regions was different after acupuncture at taixi and jinggu,which indicates that taixi point and jinggu point have different acupuncture effects.2.From the perspective of ReHo and CSD,there are similarities and differences in brain areas affected by acupuncture,which suggests that fMRI and EEG may reveal acupuncture effects from different dimensions.3.After acupuncture at taixi point and jinggu point,the large-scale network connection had significant changes,which may indicate that the influence of acupuncture on brain function network is one of the important mechanisms of acupuncture to exert neurological effect.In conclusion,our study,combinating with fMRI and EEG,reveals the effects of acupuncture at taixi and jinggu points from a neurological perspective,which will provide supporting evidence for future acupuncture intervention in clinical diseases. |
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