FMRI Study On Brain Area Activated By Acupuncture At Neiguan Point In Healthy Volunteers

Objective:Blood oxygen level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging(BOLD f MRI)was used to explore the brain activated areas caused by acupuncture at Neiguan and non acupoints;Compare the corresponding changes of Alff value of Neiguan point in the resting state before acupuncture and after pulling out the needle,and analyze the characteristics and functions of the effect after acupuncture.Through the obtained data,we further explore the central mechanism of acupuncture at Neiguan point in the treatment of related diseases and the brain specific response of acupuncture at acupoints.Method:Eighteen right-handed healthy volunteers who met the test criteria were randomly selected as subjects,and the Philips 3.0T magnetic resonance scanner was used to collect the brain activation signal data of the subjects before and after acupuncture at Neiguan point and non point on the right side and the resting state before and after acupuncture,as well as the Alff value data compared with the resting state after acupuncture.Based on MATLAB2017 A,dparsfa,xjview and Brain Net software are used for image data processing and result presentation,and spm12 software is used for statistical analysis of the test data.Finally,the position,voxel value,peak point coordinates and Alff value changes before and after acupuncture of Neiguan and non acupoints are obtained.Results:1.The positive activated brain areas caused by acupuncture at Neiguan point include: right parahippocampal gyrus,left dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus,bilateral middle frontal gyrus,caudate nucleus and right angular gyrus;The brain regions with negative activation include bilateral middle temporal gyrus,superior temporal gyrus,right superior marginal gyrus and left insula.2.The brain areas of negative activation caused by acupuncture at non acupoints include: right dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus,right hippocampus,left cerebellum,left middle occipital gyrus,left middle temporal gyrus,left anterior cingulate gyrus,left medial superior frontal gyrus and left superior temporal gyrus(no statistically significant positive activated brain areas were obtained in this test).3.Compared with non acupoints,the positive activated brain areas were right parahippocampal gyrus and angular gyrus,bilateral caudate nucleus and middle frontal gyrus,and left dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus;The negative activated brain areas were bilateral middle temporal gyrus and superior temporal gyrus,right dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus,right hippocampus,left insula,cerebellum,middle occipital gyrus,anterior cingulate gyrus and medial superior frontal gyrus.4.The brain areas with increased resting Alff value before and after acupuncture at Neiguan point are: right temporal pole,left orbital middle frontal gyrus,left inferior parietal marginal angular gyrus and left precuneus;The brain areas with reduced Alff value were: right superior temporal gyrus,middle temporal gyrus,left medial superior frontal gyrus,left insula and middle frontal gyrus.Conclusion:1.Acupuncture at Neiguan point causes the activation of multiple brain regions such as hippocampus,caudate nucleus and frontal lobe.These brain regions are not only related to advanced memory activities such as emotion,learning and language understanding,but also participate in cognitive function and pain regulation.The above may be the neural central mechanism of acupuncture at Neiguan point in the clinical treatment of angina pectoris,dementia and other diseases.2.In the state of acupuncture,Neiguan point has significant specific activation in frontal lobe,angular gyrus,hippocampus and other brain regions compared with non point,and Neiguan point can activate deeper caudate nucleus.It is predicted that the central mechanism of Neiguan point for the treatment of related diseases is closely related to the extensive activation of the above brain regions.3.By comparing the changes of Alff value in resting state before and after acupuncture at Neiguan point,it is found that there are obvious changes of Alff value in frontal lobe,temporal lobe,precuneus lobe and angular gyrus of higher nerve center,indicating that acupuncture stimulation can affect the activities of somatosensory system,motor area and limbic system of brain.In addition,it can also regulate the default brain network.