Gu Weidong, Jiang Wei, He Jingwei, Liu Songbin, Wang Zhaoxin
Department of Anesthesiology, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Department of Anesthesiology, Minhang Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Acupunct Med. 2015 Dec;33(6):457-64. doi: 10.1136/acupmed-2015-010901. Epub 2015 Oct 13.
Our aim was to test the hypothesis that electroacupuncture (EA) at acupuncture point LI4 activates specific brain regions by nerve stimulation that is mediatied through a pathway involving the brachial plexus.
Twelve acupuncture naive right-handed volunteers were allocated to receive three sessions of EA at LI4 in a random different order (crossover): (1) EA alone (EA); EA after injection of local anaesthetics into the deltoid muscle (EA+LA); and (3) EA after blockade of the brachial plexus (EA+NB). During each session, participants were imaged in a 3 T MRI scanner. Brain regions showing change in blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal (activation) were identified. Subjective acupuncture sensation was quantified after functional MRI scanning was completed. Results were compared between the three sessions for each individual, and averaged.
Blockade of the brachial plexus inhibited acupuncture sensation during EA. EA and EA+LA activated the bilateral thalamus, basal ganglia, cerebellum and left putamen, whilst no significant activation was observed during EA+NB. The BOLD signal of the thalamus correlated significantly with acupuncture sensation score during EA.
Blockade of the brachial plexus completely abolishes patterns of brain activation induced by EA at LI4. The results suggest that EA activates specific brain regions through stimulation of the local nerves supplying the tissues at LI4, which transmit sensory information via the brachial plexus.
ChiCTR-OO-13003389.
我们旨在验证以下假设，即针刺合谷穴（LI4）时，电针通过涉及臂丛神经的通路介导的神经刺激激活特定脑区。
12名从未接受过针刺的右利手志愿者被随机分配以不同顺序接受三次合谷穴电针治疗（交叉设计）：（1）单纯电针（EA）；（2）在三角肌注射局部麻醉剂后进行电针（EA+LA）；（3）臂丛神经阻滞术后进行电针（EA+NB）。在每次治疗期间，参与者在3T磁共振成像扫描仪中进行成像。识别显示血氧水平依赖（BOLD）信号变化（激活）的脑区。在功能磁共振成像扫描完成后，对主观针刺感觉进行量化。对每个个体的三次治疗结果进行比较并求平均值。
臂丛神经阻滞抑制了电针治疗期间的针刺感觉。EA和EA+LA激活了双侧丘脑、基底神经节、小脑和左侧壳核，而在EA+NB期间未观察到明显激活。丘脑的BOLD信号与电针治疗期间的针刺感觉评分显著相关。
臂丛神经阻滞完全消除了针刺合谷穴时电针诱导的脑激活模式。结果表明，电针通过刺激合谷穴局部神经来激活特定脑区，这些神经通过臂丛神经传递感觉信息。
ChiCTR-OO-13003389。
