ArticleFrontiers in neuroscience2019
Peripheral Sensory Nerve Tissue but Not Connective Tissue Is Involved in the Action of Acupuncture.
Article in Frontiers in neuroscience, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
What it found
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Short-term effects of two deep dry needling techniques on pressure pain thresholds and electromyographic amplitude of the lumbosacral multifidus in patients with low back pain - a randomized clinical trial.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2020Trial
- Skin-Brain Axis: neural pathways in acupuncture treatment.Chinese medicine · 2025Review
- Acupoint massage: a comprehensive descriptive review of its forms, applications, and underlying mechanisms.Chinese medicine · 2025Review
- Inflammatory pain and electroacupuncture: how the P2X3 receptor can help modulate inflammation-a review of current literature.Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2025Review
- The Anatomical and Physiological Knowledge of theMedical acupuncture · 2024Review
- Dry Needling and Acupuncture for Scars-A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Attenuation of immobilization stress-induced hypertension by temperature-controllable warm needle acupuncture in rats and the peripheral neural mechanisms.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Article
- Manual acupuncture for neuromusculoskeletal disorders: The selection of stimulation parameters and corresponding effects.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2023Review
- Sympathetic-Sensory Coupling as a Potential Mechanism for Acupoints Sensitization.Journal of pain research · 2023Review
- Advancing the Understanding of Acupoint Sensitization and Plasticity Through Cutaneous C-Nociceptors.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Review
- Needling Interventions for Sciatica: Choosing Methods Based on Neuropathic Pain Mechanisms-A Scoping Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Article
- Potential Mechanisms of Acupuncture for Functional Dyspepsia Based on Pathophysiology.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2021Review
- Acupuncture for Paclitaxel-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: A Review of Clinical and Basic Studies.Journal of pain research · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Acupuncture has been used to treat a variety of diseases and symptoms for more than 2,500 years. While a number of studies have shown that nerves are responsible for initiating the effects of acupuncture, several lines of study have emphasized the role of connective tissue in the initiation of acupuncture signals. To determine whether nerves or connective tissue mediate the action of acupuncture, we constructed a robotic acupuncture needle twister that mimicked the twisting of the needle by an acupuncturist, and we examined the role of nerves and connective tissues in the generation of acupuncture effects in rat cocaine-induced locomotion, stress-induced hypertension, and mustard oil-induced visceral pain models. Robotic or manual twisting of acupuncture needles effectively suppressed cocaine-induced hyperactivity, elevated systemic blood pressure or mustard oil-induced visceral pain in rats. These acupuncture effects were completely abolished by injecting bupivacaine, a local anesthetic, into acupoints. However, disruption of connective tissue by injecting type I collagenase into acupoints did not affect these acupuncture effects. Our findings suggest that nerve tissue, but not connective tissue, is responsible for generating the effects of acupuncture.
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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.