Bu Fan-You, Wei Feng, Dai Xue-Shuang, Tan Qi-Wen, Cheng Bin
Acupuncture-Tuina College, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250355.
Affiliated Hospital, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250355.
Zhen Ci Yan Jiu. 2017 Aug 25;42(4):363-6.
Acupuncture has a good curative effect in the treatment of gastrointestinal system diseases, such as functional dyspepsia, ulcerative colitis, and constipation. The central nuclei which are involved in the mechanism of acupuncture in regulating the gastrointestinal system have become a research hotspot in recent years. In the present paper, the authors summarized the effect of acupuncture and the central nervous system on gastrointestinal function regulation. It was found that the regulation of gastrointestinal function by acupuncture involved many brain regions such as the amygdala, paraventricular nucleus, locus coeruleus, raphe nucleus, and dorsal nucleus of the vagus nerve. Of these, the limbic brain region had the closest relation. However, the included studies were animal experiments, which involved less research on nuclear group interactions. The role of central nuclei in the regulation of gastrointestinal function by acupuncture is unclear. Thus, the introduction of more advanced brain imaging techniques to observe brain dysfunction of central nuclei and the relativity of acupuncture in regulating gastrointestinal function will be the focus in the future study, which will contribute to determining the effective mechanism of acupuncture and moxibustion.
针灸在治疗胃肠道系统疾病方面具有良好的疗效，如功能性消化不良、溃疡性结肠炎和便秘。近年来，参与针灸调节胃肠系统机制的中枢核团已成为研究热点。在本文中，作者总结了针灸与中枢神经系统对胃肠功能调节的作用。研究发现，针灸对胃肠功能的调节涉及多个脑区，如杏仁核、室旁核、蓝斑、中缝核和迷走神经背核。其中，边缘脑区关系最为密切。然而，纳入的研究均为动物实验，对核团间相互作用的研究较少。中枢核团在针灸调节胃肠功能中的作用尚不清楚。因此，引入更先进的脑成像技术来观察中枢核团的脑功能障碍以及针灸调节胃肠功能的相关性将是未来研究的重点，这将有助于明确针灸的作用机制。
