Yang Yi, Eisner Ines, Chen Siqi, Wang Shaosong, Zhang Fan, Wang Linpeng
Acupuncture and Moxibustion Department, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Meishuguanhoujie No. 23, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100010, China; Department of Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Youanmenwai Xitoutiao No. 10, Fengtai District, Beijing 100069, China.
Acupuncture and Moxibustion Department, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Meishuguanhoujie No. 23, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100010, China.
Neural Plast. 2017;2017:4716792. doi: 10.1155/2017/4716792. Epub 2017 Feb 15.
While neuroplasticity changes measured by transcranial magnetic stimulation have been proved to be highly correlated to motor recovery and have been tested in various forms of interventions, it has not been applied to investigate the neurophysiologic mechanism of acupuncture therapy. The aim of this study is to investigate neuroplasticity changes induced by a single session of acupuncture therapy in healthy adults, regarding the excitability change on bilateral primary motor cortex and interhemispheric inhibition. Ten subjects took a 30-minute acupuncture therapy and the same length relaxing phase in separate days. Transcranial magnetic stimulation measures, including resting motor threshold, amplitudes of motor-evoked potential, and interhemispheric inhibition, were assessed before and 10 minutes after intervention. Acupuncture treatment showed significant changes on potential amplitude from both ipsilateral and contralateral hemispheres to acupuncture compared to baseline. Also, interhemispheric inhibition from the contralateral motor cortex to the opposite showed a significant decline. The results indicated that corticomotoneuronal excitability and interhemispheric competition could be modulated by acupuncture therapy on healthy subjects. The following question about whether these changes will be observed in the same way on stroke patients and whether they correlate with the therapeutic effect on movement need to be answered by following studies. This trial is registered with ISRCTN13074245.
虽然经颅磁刺激所测量的神经可塑性变化已被证明与运动恢复高度相关，并已在各种形式的干预中得到测试，但尚未应用于研究针刺疗法的神经生理机制。本研究的目的是调查单次针刺疗法在健康成年人中引起的神经可塑性变化，涉及双侧初级运动皮层的兴奋性变化和半球间抑制。10名受试者在不同日期分别接受了30分钟的针刺治疗和相同时长的放松阶段。在干预前和干预后10分钟评估经颅磁刺激测量指标，包括静息运动阈值、运动诱发电位幅度和半球间抑制。与基线相比，针刺治疗显示针刺同侧和对侧半球的电位幅度有显著变化。此外，从对侧运动皮层到另一侧的半球间抑制也显著下降。结果表明，针刺疗法可调节健康受试者的皮质运动神经元兴奋性和半球间竞争。关于这些变化在中风患者中是否会以相同方式观察到以及它们是否与运动治疗效果相关的以下问题，需要后续研究来解答。本试验已在ISRCTN13074245注册。
