The Effects On Spatiotemporal Dynamics Of Acupuncture Stimulation Of Taichong(LR3)and Qiuxu(GB40)

Objective: Functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI)and Electroencephalography(EEG)techniques were used to acquire the spatial(amplitude of low frequency fluctuation in fMRI)and temporal(EEG microstates)variations in the brain,after needling Taichong or Qiuxu.Then the differences and similarities of brain responses between Taichong and Qiuxu were compared.Methods: 80 appropriate healthy adults aged 18~40 years were included in this trial and randomly divided into four groups by the order of participation,group ? : Taichong+fMRI group,group ? : Qiuxu+fMRI,group ? : Taichong+EEG group,group ?: Qiuxu+EEG group.Each group had 20 cases.Volunteers received fMRI or EEG record of 10 minutes,depending on the individual group assignments,in resting state before acupuncture.Then needling for 3 minutes.After the acupuncture accomplished,the fMRI or EEG data were gathered again for 10 minutes.When all of the data were completed,we performed the following analyses: the features of space: 1.Amplitude of low frequency fluctuation(ALFF)was used to investigate the differences of the active brain regions before and after acupuncture;2.A meta-analysis was conducted in the brain regions with ALFF differences in post-acupuncture to acquire the neurological functions of the brain regions affected by acupuncturing.The features of temporal: 1.EEG data were intercepted 60 s with no obvious interference before and after acupuncture of each subjects for analysis.Then LORETA Key software was used to analyze the variations of EEG microstates induced by acupuncture.2.Source localization analysis was performed for those EEG microstates with significant differences between pre-and post-acupuncture.Results: 1.The demographics of the group ?(Taichong+fMRI),group ?(Qiuxu+fMRI),group ?(Taichong+EEG)and group ?(Qiuxu+EEG)were comparable(P>0.05).2.ALFF analysis:(1)After acupuncture at Taichong versus pre-acupuncture,ALFF value was dramatically increased in middle frontal gyrus,precentral gyrus,bilateral caudate,left cerebellum crus,right cerebellum,right inferior frontal orbit and right medial frontal orbit;ALFF value decreased in the left cuneus,(P<0.05).(2)After acupuncture at Qiuxu versus pre-acupuncture,increased ALFF value was detected in right inferior frontal operculum,right superior frontal gyrus,decreased ALFF value was observed in right calcarine,right superior occipital gyrus,right inferior parietal gyrus,bilateral postcentral gyrus and left lingual gyrus,(P<0.05).3.Meta-analysis: The functions of the brain regions with the ALFF differences in Taichong were related to action,perception and cognition,the functions of the brain regions in Qiuxu were involved in action and perception.4.Co-activation analysis: The coactivation areas of ALFF differences of the acupoint were similar in the bilateral inferior frontal operculum,bilateral thalamus,left support motor area but showed different in insula,occipital lobe and et al.5.EEG microstates analysis:(1)In post-acupuncture of Taichong,the occurrence of EEG microstate C decreased but the duration of microstate A and relative probability from microstate B and D to A increased than before acupuncture,(P<0.05).(2)Comparing with the preacupuncture,the percent of total time and occurrence of microstate C,relative probability from microstate B and D to C decreased after needling Qiuxu,(P<0.05).6.EEG source localization analysis by eLORETA: In Taichong group,the sources of microstate A included parahippocampal gyrus,posterior cingulate and lingual gyrus before acupuncture but located in parahippocampal gyrus after acupuncture;microstate C located in cingulate gyrus whether acupuncture or not.In Qiuxu group,the sources of microstate C refered to precuneus and cingulate gyrus.Conclusion: 1.Acupuncture at Taichong or Qiuxu could specifically activated/deactivated some brain,and differences in brain areas might associate with the mechanism of action of the acupoint.2.The brain areas of ALFF affected by acupuncture after Taichong or Qiuxu were both concentrated frontal lobe.And the co-activation areas of ALFF differences of the points were similar in some regions but different in another.These might reflect the relationship of “Biaoli” between Taichong and Qiuxu.3.There were several alterations in microstates after acupuncture at Taichong or Qiuxu.EEG microstates analysis could be a useful method to explore the variations in temporal dynamics from acupuncture.4.EEG source imaging analysis by eLORETA was used in acupuncture for the first time.The present study provided evidences that sources of EEG microstates had changed since stimulating Taichong or Qiuxu.