SynthesisFrontiers in neuroscience2022
A coordinate-based meta-analysis of acupuncture for chronic pain: Evidence from fMRI studies.
Synthesis in Frontiers in neuroscience, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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.
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
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Neuroimaging evidence for central mechanisms of acupuncture in non-specific low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Multi-Spatial Voxel-Scale Modulation of Acupuncture on Abnormal Brain Activity in Migraine Patients Without Aura: A Randomized Study Neuroimaging Trial.Brain and behavior · 2025Trial
- Evaluating Acupuncture for Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathic Pain: A Narrative Review of Clinical Evidence and Mechanistic Perspectives.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Review
- Altered Regional Brain Activity Underlying the Higher Postoperative Analgesic Requirements in Abstinent Smokers: A Prospective Cohort Study.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026Article
- Spatial Organization of Acupoint Selection Across Pain Conditions.Pain research & management · 2026Article
- Potential mechanisms of acupuncture in regulating neuroinflammation and central sensitization in chronic pain: a narrative review of preclinical, clinical, and translational evidence.American journal of translational research · 2026Review
- Neural correlates of postoperative pain in patients with rotator cuff tear following arthroscopic surgery: a resting-state fMRI study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Effect of Contralateral Acupuncture (Geoja Technique) in Musculoskeletal Disorders Stratified by Pulse Strength Differences: A Retrospective Study.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- Bibliometric analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies on chronic pain over the past 20 years.Acta neurochirurgica · 2024Review
- Pathology of pain and its implications for therapeutic interventions.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2024Review
- Acupuncture-Related Therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Narrative Review of Neuroimaging Studies.Journal of pain research · 2024Review
- Electro-Acupuncture Effects Measured by Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging-A Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging reveals brain remodeling after Tuina therapy in neuropathic pain model.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Chronic pain (CP) patients tend to represent aberrant functional brain activity. Acupuncture is an effective clinical treatment for CP, and some fMRI studies were conducted to discover the alternation of brain regions after acupuncture therapy for CP. However, the heterogeneity of neuroimaging studies has prevented researchers from systematically generalizing the central mechanisms of acupuncture in the treatment of CP. Methods: We searched bibliographic databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science Core Collection, ScienceDirect, China Academic Journal Network Publishing Database, etc., and trials registration platforms (From inception to September 1 Results: Totally 14 studies with 524 CP patients were included in the study. ALE analysis showed that CP patients presented with decreased ALFF/ReHo in the precuneus, posterior cingulate cortex, right inferior parietal lobule, right superior temporal gyrus, cingulate gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, left medial frontal gyrus including medial prefrontal gurus, left middle frontal gyrus. Conclusion: This ALE meta-analysis pointed out that acupuncture could modulate the default mode network, the frontoparietal network to treat CP. This provided a systematic summary of the neuroimage biomarker of acupuncture for the treatment of CP. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO, identifier: CRD42021239633.
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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.