Xiang Anfeng, Chen Meiyu, Qin Chuan, Rong Jun, Wang Can, Shen Xueyong, Liu Sheng
School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
The First Rehabilitation Hospital of Shanghai, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Front Neurosci. 2021 Dec 7;15:786490. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2021.786490. eCollection 2021.
Recent advances in brain imaging have deepened our knowledge of the neural activity in distinct brain areas associated with acupuncture analgesia. However, there has not been conclusive research into the frequency-specific resting-state functional changes associated with acupuncture analgesia in patients with chronic pain. Here, we aimed to characterize changes across multiple frequencies of resting-state cortical activity associated with ankle acupuncture stimulation (AAS) in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) and healthy controls. Twenty seven patients with CLBP and Twenty five age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study. Participants received tactile sham acupuncture (TSA) and AAS, respectively. The whole-brain amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) in the range 0.01-0.25 Hz was assessed for changes associated with each intervention. Further, a visual analog scale (VAS) was used to collect subjective measures of pain intensity in patients. Linear mixed-effect modeling (LME) was used to examine the mean ALFF values of AAS and TSA between patients and healthy controls. The ALFF was modulated in the default mode network (an increase in the medial prefrontal cortex, and a decrease in the cerebellum/posterior ingulate/parahippocampus, < 0.01, corrected) in both patients and controls. Decreased ALFF in the bilateral insular was frequency-dependent. Modulations in the cerebellum and right insular were significantly correlated with VAS pain score after AAS ( < 0.01). Hence, frequency-specific resting-state activity in the cerebellum and insular was correlated to AAS analgesia. Our frequency-specific analysis of ALFF may provide novel insights related to pain relief from acupuncture.
脑成像技术的最新进展加深了我们对与针刺镇痛相关的不同脑区神经活动的认识。然而，对于慢性疼痛患者针刺镇痛相关的频率特异性静息态功能变化，尚未有确凿的研究。在此，我们旨在描述慢性下腰痛（CLBP）患者和健康对照者在接受踝部针刺刺激（AAS）时，静息态皮质活动多个频率的变化特征。27例CLBP患者和25例年龄及性别匹配的健康志愿者参与了本研究。参与者分别接受了触觉假针刺（TSA）和AAS。评估了0.01 - 0.25Hz范围内低频波动的全脑振幅（ALFF）与每种干预相关的变化。此外，使用视觉模拟量表（VAS）收集患者疼痛强度的主观测量值。采用线性混合效应模型（LME）检查患者和健康对照者之间AAS和TSA的平均ALFF值。在患者和对照组中，默认模式网络中的ALFF均受到调制（内侧前额叶皮质增加，小脑/后扣带回/海马旁回减少，P < 0.01，校正）。双侧岛叶的ALFF降低具有频率依赖性。小脑和右侧岛叶的调制与AAS后的VAS疼痛评分显著相关（P < 0.01）。因此，小脑和岛叶的频率特异性静息态活动与AAS镇痛相关。我们对ALFF的频率特异性分析可能为针刺镇痛提供新的见解。
