Trial reportBrain and behavior2021
Gender-related difference in altered fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations after electroacupuncture on primary insomnia patients: A resting-state fMRI study.
Trial report in Brain and behavior, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of acupuncture on the brain in primary insomnia: a coordinate-based meta-analysis of fMRI studies.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Pooled it
- Sex differences in brain functional connectivity changes to different energy densities of laser acupuncture at PC6 (Neiguan): a pilot resting-state fMRI study.Lasers in medical science · 2026Trial
- A true response of the brain network during electroacupuncture stimulation at scalp acupoints: An fMRI with simultaneous EAS study.Brain and behavior · 2023Trial
- Efficacy of electro-acupuncture in postpartum with diastasis recti abdominis: A randomized controlled clinical trial.Frontiers in public health · 2022Trial
- Gender-related difference in altered fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations after electroacupuncture on primary insomnia patients: A resting-state fMRI study.Brain and behavior · 2021Trial
- Aberrant resting-state functional connectivity in amygdala subregions among adolescents with depression and suicide attempts.World journal of psychiatry · 2026Article
- Acupuncture for Comorbid Chronic Nonspecific Neck Pain and Chronic Insomnia: Protocol for a Multicenter, Randomized, Sham-Controlled Trial.Journal of pain research · 2026Article
- Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial: Evaluating the Impact of Acupuncture on Menstrual Regulation and Pregnancy Enhancement in Patients with DOR Using Rs-fMRI to Assess Brain Functional Networks.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2024Article
- The central regulatory effects of acupuncture in treating primary insomnia: a review.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Review
- Rehabilitations for maternal diastasis recti abdominis: An update on therapeutic directions.Heliyon · 2023Review
- Efficacy of needling Baihui (GV20), Neiguan (PC6), Shenmen (HT7) and Taichong (LR3) on cerebral cortical blood oxygen level in rats with insomnia.Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPrimary insomnia (PI) is defined as a sleep disorder with no definite cause or inducement. Electroacupuncture, a treatment of inserting needles into specific points on the body surface and applying electrical stimulation, has been proved effective in treating PI with minimal adverse effects. However, the influence of gender difference on the clinical treatment efficacy of electroacupuncture for PI patients remains unclear. Therefore, we designed a clinical trial to compare the clinical treatment efficacy of electroacupuncture for PI patients with different genders. The research on the mechanism of electroacupuncture suggested it could modulate the sleep and wakefulness by activating or deactivating brain regions via a needling/tactile somatosensory specific stimulus. Therefore, we also designed a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) study to detect the spontaneous brain activity of PI patients before and after the electroacupuncture treatment.
methodThirty PI patients were recruited to accept 5-week electroacupuncture treatment on HT-7. Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) and Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) questionnaires were used to evaluate the clinical treatment efficacy. Rs-fMRI was employed to observe the spontaneous brain activity in the resting state at the baseline and after 5 weeks of electroacupuncture treatment, which was measured by the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF).
resultThe AIS and PSQI scores were significantly decreased both in the female PI group and the male PI group after treatment. The decreased PSQI of female patients was significantly more than that of male patients (p < .05). The gender-related difference in the cerebral response to electroacupuncture was mainly in posterior cingulate and supramarginal gyrus.
conclusionThere is a gender-related difference in the clinical treatment efficacy of electroacupuncture for PI patients, and female patients may benefit more from electroacupuncture. Gender-related differences in the cerebral response to electroacupuncture may be one of the factors affecting clinical treatment efficacy.
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