ReviewNeural plasticity2021
The Role of Neuroglial Crosstalk and Synaptic Plasticity-Mediated Central Sensitization in Acupuncture Analgesia.
Review in Neural plasticity, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 4 of them syntheses 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
47 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 58 citations in OpenAlex.
- Acupuncture Versus Standard Medical Care in the Prophylactic Treatment of Migraine: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.European journal of neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Hotspots and trends in acupuncture combined with non-invasive neuromodulation technology in the past 20 years: a bibliometric analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy of electroacupuncture on myocardial protection and postoperative rehabilitation in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass: a systematic review and Meta-analysis.Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2024Pooled it
- Effectiveness of acupuncture combined with rehabilitation training vs. rehabilitation training alone for post-stroke shoulder pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Shuci method of electroacupuncture improves self-perception and quality of life in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a multicenter randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Trial
- Effect of press needle stimulation on postoperative pulmonary complications in video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery patients: a randomized controlled trial.Annals of medicine · 2025Trial
- Pressure pain threshold and perceived impact of pain differentially predict short-term and long-term pain reduction following acupuncture in fibromyalgia.Journal of integrative medicine · 2025Trial
- Effects of combined transversus abdominis plane block under direct vision and acupoint injection on promoting rapid recovery after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.Langenbeck's archives of surgery · 2025Trial
- Clinical effect of acupuncture along fascia, meridians, and nerves combined with ultrasound-guided paravertebral nerve block in the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia: a randomized parallel-controlled study.Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2023Trial
- Regulatory effects and mechanisms of the acupuncture-induced complement component 1q on the high mobility group box 1 -receptor for advanced glycation end products-nuclear factor kappa-B pathway at Zusanli (ST36).Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2026Article
- Emerging Nonpharmacologic Analgesic Technologies in Anesthesia: Mechanisms, Evidence, and Future Directions for Pharmacologic Alternatives.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- The function of chemokine-driven glial-neuronal interaction in chronic pain.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Efficacy of Acupuncture in Patients with Fibromyalgia Syndrome: A Meta-Analysis.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- Acupuncture-induced HSP70 upregulation in neuroprotection: mitochondrial and anti-apoptotic mechanisms.American journal of translational research · 2026Review
- Tuina Inhibits Synaptic Plasticity Through the Astrocytic NDRG2/GLT-1 Pathway to Alleviate Neuropathic Pain.Journal of cellular and molecular medicine · 2026Article
- Acupuncture-Mediated Neuro-Immune Regulation in Musculoskeletal Pain: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Perspectives.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- Tuina therapy alleviates neuropathic pain by modulating the CX3CL1/CX3CR1 axis to inhibit degradation of the perineuronal nets.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2026Article
- Electroacupuncture alleviates inflammatory pain by modulating the CXCL1/CXCR2 signaling axis in the spinal cord dorsal horn of rats.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2026Article
- Article
- Manual Massage Therapy for Neuropathic Pain: Clinical Evidence and Mechanistic Insights.Pain research & management · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Although pain is regarded as a global public health priority, analgesic therapy remains a significant challenge. Pain is a hypersensitivity state caused by peripheral and central sensitization, with the latter considered the culprit for chronic pain. This study summarizes the pathogenesis of central sensitization from the perspective of neuroglial crosstalk and synaptic plasticity and underlines the related analgesic mechanisms of acupuncture. Central sensitization is modulated by the neurotransmitters and neuropeptides involved in the ascending excitatory pathway and the descending pain modulatory system. Acupuncture analgesia is associated with downregulating glutamate in the ascending excitatory pathway and upregulating opioids, 𝛾-aminobutyric acid, norepinephrine, and 5-hydroxytryptamine in the descending pain modulatory system. Furthermore, it is increasingly appreciated that neurotransmitters, cytokines, and chemokines are implicated in neuroglial crosstalk and associated plasticity, thus contributing to central sensitization. Acupuncture produces its analgesic action by inhibiting cytokines, such as interleukin-1
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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.