SynthesisFrontiers in neurology2023
Effects of acupuncture on the brain in primary insomnia: a coordinate-based meta-analysis of fMRI studies.
Synthesis in Frontiers in neurology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 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
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Placebo Effect of Sham Acupuncture for Primary Insomnia: A Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials.Journal of sleep research · 2026Pooled it
- Mapping the research landscape of traditional Chinese medicine in insomnia management: a bibliometric study (2005-2024).Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Acupuncture modulates emotional network resting-state functional connectivity in patients with insomnia disorder: a randomized controlled trial and fMRI study.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2024Trial
- Altered Cerebellar Spontaneous Activity and Its Association with Arousal Index in Comorbid Insomnia and Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Resting-State fMRI Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Acupuncture for Comorbid Chronic Nonspecific Neck Pain and Chronic Insomnia: Protocol for a Multicenter, Randomized, Sham-Controlled Trial.Journal of pain research · 2026Article
- Neuroinflammation-informed neuroimaging-transcriptomic signatures explaining acupuncture's therapeutic effects in chronic insomnia.Chinese medicine · 2025Article
- Altered connection properties of the left dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus inFrontiers in neuroscience · 2025Article
- Research status and trends of functional magnetic resonance imaging technology in the field of acupuncture: a bibliometric analysis over the past two decades.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Review
- Task-Shifting from Acupuncturists to Nurses in Delivering Acupuncture/Acupressure or Supervising Patient Self-Administered Acupressure for Sleep Management: Is It Feasible?Nature and science of sleep · 2025Review
- Brain function assessment of acupuncture for chronic insomnia disorder with mild cognitive dysfunction based on fNIRS: protocol for a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Article
- Exploring the pathogenesis of insomnia and acupuncture intervention strategies based on the microbiota-gut-brain axis.Frontiers in microbiology · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Importance: Primary insomnia (PI) has a high global incidence, and effective treatments with fewer side effects are needed. Acupuncture, a treatment used in traditional Chinese medicine, has become increasingly established as a treatment method for PI and is recognized by many physicians and patients. Some evidence has suggested that acupuncture was associated with improvements in objective sleep parameters and might induce changes in some brain regions. Individual studies with limited sample size and low detection thresholds may lead to false positives, and no systematic review of the effects of acupuncture has been conducted in PI. Objective: The aim of this systematic review and coordinate-based meta-analysis was to summarize the literature on fMRI evaluation of patients with PI treated with acupuncture. Design: We performed a methodical and comprehensive search of multiple publication databases (from inception to December 2022): Web of Science, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Embase, Wan Fang, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Chinese Scientific Journal Database. Bias and quality of studies were evaluated by three researchers. Furthermore, a seed-based D-mapping meta-analysis with permutation of subject images (SDM-PSI) was applied to investigate the central mechanisms behind acupuncture treatment at PI. The International Prospective Registry of Systematic Reviews received the protocol for this study. (PROSPERO: CRD42023400086). Results: The analysis included 305 patients with PI and 116 healthy controls from 11 studies. SDM-PSI analysis showed that patients with PI exhibited increased amplitudes of regional homogeneity and low-frequency fluctuations in the left superior frontal gyrus (1352 voxels, Conclusion: This coordinate-based meta-analysis found that acupuncture in patients with PI had significant effects on the default mode network, particularly on the frontal lobe and precuneus, and that non-acupoint acupuncture may provide some benefit to frontal brain region function. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO: CRD42023400086.
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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.