ReviewFrontiers in neuroscience2025
Possible antidepressant mechanism of acupuncture: targeting neuroplasticity.
Review in Frontiers in neuroscience, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 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
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effects of acupuncture on brain function in patients with depression: A meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies.Medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Olink proteomics identifies FGF-19 as a treatment-responsive inflammatory biomarker associated with acupuncture intervention in young females with mild depression.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Trial
- Acupuncture in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Narrative Review of Neurotransmitter Regulation and Neuroplasticity.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- EEG Functional Connectivity Associated With Antidepressant Response to Transcutaneous Electrical Cranial-Auricular Acupoint Stimulation.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2026Article
- Acupuncture on 5-hydroxytryptamine levels and clinical outcomes in depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.World journal of psychiatry · 2026Article
- Effects of acupuncture and exercise on EEG characteristics and cognitive control in college students with high procrastination tendency.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Article
- Acupuncture and Moxibustion for Poststroke Depression: Systematic Review.Interactive journal of medical research · 2025Review
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a highly prevalent and severely disabling psychiatric disorder that decreases quality of life and imposes substantial economic burden. Acupuncture has emerged as an effective adjunctive treatment for depression, it regulates neurotransmitters involved in mood regulation and modulates the activity of specific brain regions associated with emotional processing, as evidenced by neuroimaging and biochemical studies. Despite these insights, the precise neuroplastic mechanisms through which acupuncture exerts its antidepressant effects remain not fully elucidated. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge on acupuncture's modulation of neuroplasticity in depression, with a focus on the neuroplasticity-based targets associated with acupuncture's antidepressant effects. We encapsulate two decades of research into the neurobiological mechanisms underpinning the efficacy of acupuncture in treating depression. Additionally, we detail the acupoints and electroacupuncture parameters used in the treatment of depression to better serve clinical application.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.