Du H J, Chao Y F
Sci Sin. 1976 Jan-Feb;19(1):137-48.
The pain reaction provoked by visceral traction has been one of the main problems to be solved in acupuncture anesthesia. By means of recording the viscero-somatic reflex activity in the animals, we have found that this reflex activity can be inhibited by acupuncture, and that the inhibitory effect originates from the supraspinal structures. The central structures involved in the inhibitory effect of acupuncture have been identified in a series of transection and lesion experiments. In decerebrated animals the inhibitory effect during acupuncture was preserved, but the after-inhibition of acupuncture disappeared; transection at the lower medulla as well as the cervical cord abolished near completely the whole inhibitory effect of acupuncture; a median lesion in the medulla including the nucleus raphe maguns resulted in a significant decrease of the inhibitory effect during acupuncture and a complete disappearance of the after-inhibition of acupuncture. The available evidence indicates that the median region of the medulla is involved in the elaboration of the inhibitory effect of acupuncture on the viscero-somatic reflex. A suggestion is thus offered that these supraspinal structures may be the essential link of the centre which is activated by acupuncture and involved in the descending inhibitory influence on the pain reaction of visceral stimulation.
内脏牵拉引起的疼痛反应一直是针刺麻醉中有待解决的主要问题之一。通过记录动物的内脏-躯体反射活动，我们发现这种反射活动可被针刺抑制，且抑制作用源于脊髓以上结构。在一系列横断和损伤实验中，已明确了参与针刺抑制作用的中枢结构。在去大脑动物中，针刺时的抑制作用得以保留，但针刺后抑制消失；延髓下部以及颈髓横断几乎完全消除了针刺的全部抑制作用；延髓中部包括中缝大核的损伤导致针刺时抑制作用显著减弱且针刺后抑制完全消失。现有证据表明，延髓中部参与了针刺对内脏-躯体反射抑制作用的形成。因此提出一种观点，即这些脊髓以上结构可能是针刺激活的中枢的关键环节，参与了对内脏刺激疼痛反应的下行抑制作用。
