ArticleEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2013
Neurobiological foundations of acupuncture: the relevance and future prospect based on neuroimaging evidence.
Article in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Does acupuncture therapy improve language function of patients with aphasia following ischemic stroke? A systematic review and meta-analysis.NeuroRehabilitation · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of electro-acupuncture at Tongli (HT 5) and Xuanzhong (GB 39) acupoints from functional magnetic resonance imaging evidence.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2016Trial
- Acupuncture treatment modulates the resting-state functional connectivity of brain regions in migraine patients without aura.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2016Trial
- A Randomized Sham-Controlled Mixed Methods Pilot Study of the Feasibility of Acupuncture for Chemotherapy-Induced Neuropathy: Lessons Learned From Patient Experiences in Integrative Cancer Care.Integrative cancer therapiesTrial
- Role of Hypothalamus in Acupuncture's Effects.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Acupuncture modulates the frequency-specific functional connectivity density in primary dysmenorrhea.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Article
- Body-Centered Interventions for Psychopathological Conditions: A Review.Frontiers in psychology · 2019Review
- Cerebral mechanism of puncturing at He-Mu point combination for functional dyspepsia: study protocol for a randomized controlled parallel trial.Neural regeneration research · 2017Article
- BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF ACUPUNCTURE RESEARCH FRONTS AND THEIR WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION OVER THREE DECADES.African journal of traditional, complementary, and alternative medicines : AJTCAM · 2017Article
- Modulation of Acupuncture on Cell Apoptosis and Autophagy.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2017Review
- Decreased risk of acute myocardial infarction in stroke patients receiving acupuncture treatment: a nationwide matched retrospective cohort study.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2015Article
- Comparison of Body, Auricular, and Abdominal Acupuncture Treatments for Insomnia Differentiated as Internal Harassment of Phlegm-Heat Syndrome: An Orthogonal Design.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2015Article
- Does Acupuncture Reduce Stress Over Time? A Clinical Heart Rate Variability Study in Hypertensive Patients.Medical acupuncture · 2014Article
- Acupuncture modulates the functional connectivity of the default mode network in stroke patients.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2014Article
- Acupuncture Enhances Effective Connectivity between Cerebellum and Primary Sensorimotor Cortex in Patients with Stable Recovery Stroke.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2014Article
- Differential activation patterns of FMRI in sleep-deprived brain: restoring effects of acupuncture.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Acupuncture is currently gaining popularity as an important modality of alternative and complementary medicine in the western world. Modern neuroimaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, and magnetoencephalography open a window into the neurobiological foundations of acupuncture. In this review, we have summarized evidence derived from neuroimaging studies and tried to elucidate both neurophysiological correlates and key experimental factors involving acupuncture. Converging evidence focusing on acute effects of acupuncture has revealed significant modulatory activities at widespread cerebrocerebellar brain regions. Given the delayed effect of acupuncture, block-designed analysis may produce bias, and acupuncture shared a common feature that identified voxels that coded the temporal dimension for which multiple levels of their dynamic activities in concert cause the processing of acupuncture. Expectation in acupuncture treatment has a physiological effect on the brain network, which may be heterogeneous from acupuncture mechanism. "Deqi" response, bearing clinical relevance and association with distinct nerve fibers, has the specific neurophysiology foundation reflected by neural responses to acupuncture stimuli. The type of sham treatment chosen is dependent on the research question asked and the type of acupuncture treatment to be tested. Due to the complexities of the therapeutic mechanisms of acupuncture, using multiple controls is an optimal choice.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.