Clinical Study On The Effect Of Acupuncture At "Ghost Point" On Event-related Potential Of Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Purpose:This research takes the method of randomized control to observe the clinical efficacy of "ghost point" acupuncture in treating generalized anxiety disorder(GAD),explores its cognitive neuroscience mechanism based on event-related potential,so as to provide theoretical basis for further efficacy improvement,and pave the way for next step clinical and fundamental research.Method:Divide patients of mild-to-moderate GAD into 32-case observation group and control group respectively and randomly based on the sequence of first visit,totally 64 cases.Based on inspection,the basic data of gender and age of the two groups have no inter-group difference and are comparable.Give"ghost point" acupuncture treatment to the observation group at these acupoints:Shuigou,Daling,Shenmai,Fengfu,Jiache,Chengjiang and Quchi;give acqupuncture treatment to the control group at the acupoints for treating depression syndrome designated by the National Textbook of Traditional Chinese Medical Universities and Colleges-Acupuncture&Moxibustion(Ninth Edition):Baihui,Yintang,Shenmen,Taichong,Neiguan and Danzhong.Both of the two groups are given one time of acupuncture every one day at 4 times a week,totally 8 times of acupuncture and moxibustion treatment in 2 weeks.Before and after the treatment,respectively score per Hamilton anxiety scale and Self-Rating Scale of Sleep,conduct event-related potential examination.Event-related potential examination adopts dot-probe paradigm,using 75 pieces of neutral and negative pictures respectively as clue picture material.During the experiment,use software BrainVision Recorder to record and save electroencephalogram(EEG)data.At the completion of the experiment,use software BrainVision Analyzer 2.1 to analyze ERP data offline.Filter for trials that are consistent with the target stimulus,take the EEG corresponding to each treatment group to output the average waveform of the forehead position(select electrodes Fz,AF3,AF4,F1,F2,FC1 and FC2,directly output the average waveform using software),compare the difference of components N1,N2 amplitudes and the latency data of the two groups before and after the treatment.Result:In the course of the study,4 patients quit the study due to personal reasons(2 in the observation group and 2 in the control group),and actually completed the study in 60 cases,30 in the observation group and 30 in the control group.Before treatment,there was no significant difference in age,gender and course of disease between the two groups.After going through acupuncture treatment,the Hamilton anxiety scale scores and the Self-rating scale of sleep of the two groups show significant improvement over prior-treatment.Treatment evaluation finds out that:both of the two groups show significant treatment efficacy after going through different acupuncture treatment,wherein the total effective rate of the observation group was 83.3%,the apprant effective rate was 50%;the total effective rate of the control group was 70%,the apprant effective rate was 20%.The therapeutic effect of acupuncture at "ghost point" in the treatment group was better than that in the control group.Based on comparison of the event-related potential data of the two groups,it is found out that N1 amplitudes of both groups show significant decrease after going through acupuncture treatment;N2 amplitudes of the two groups increase comparing to prior-treatment.Wherein N1 amplitude decrease degree of the "ghost point”acupuncture observation group is more obvious than the control group after going through treatment.Conclusion:After 14 days of acupuncture treatment,both "ghost point" acupuncture treatment and conventional acupuncture treatment show obvious GAD treatment efficacy,wherein "ghost point" acupuncture treatment shows more obvious efficacy.Based on the ERP data analysis result of this research and in combination with literature evidences,it is inferred that acupuncture treatment of GAD can reduce forehead N1 amplitude of the patient and extend its latency,and increase N2 amplitude,hence improving patient’ s hypervigilance condition and excessive call of attention resources.Comparing with conventional acupuncture treatment,the above-mentioned efficacy of " ghost point"acupuncture treatment is more obvious.Based on the above analysis,this paper holds the view that "ghost point"acupuncture treatment of mild-to-moderate GAD can reduce patient’s anxiety degree and improve sleep condition and cognitive function with obvious advantages.