ArticleFrontiers in neurology2025
An analysis of electroacupuncture as adjunctive treatment for insomnia: a new perspective targeting GABA-mediated microbiome-gut-brain axis.
Article in Frontiers in neurology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Health risk analysis of micro-and nanoplastic exposure via the microbiota-gut-brain axis.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Electroacupuncture as adjunctive therapy for insomnia via targeting the GABAergic microbiota-gut-brain axis: a mini review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 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
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: Insomnia is a prevalent psychiatric disorder that significantly impacts mental and physical health. Emerging evidence suggests that gut microbiota, particularly γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) producing bacteria, plays a critical role in the microbiome-gut-brain axis (MGBA), influencing sleep and mental states. Electroacupuncture (EA) has been shown to have favorable anti-insomnia effects. This research protocol outlines a randomized controlled trial (RCT) designed to investigate the efficacy of EA in modulating GABA levels via the MGBA to alleviate insomnia. Methods and analysis: The study will use glutamate (Glu) concentrations of p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA) -induced insomnia rat model to examine whether EA at specific acupoints can increase GABA levels in the brain and plasma by enhancing the abundance of GABA-producing gut bacteria. A second experiment will transplant stool from insomnia rats into germ-free mice to evaluate the causal role of microbiota in insomnia pathology. Primary outcome measures include changes in GABA and Glu levels, data about the open field test, and gut microbiota composition. Discussion: This study will provide insights into the therapeutic mechanisms of EA targeting the MGBA in the treatment of insomnia and contribute to the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Ethics and dissemination: This study has been approved by the Laboratory Animal Center of Xiamen University (No. XMULAC20220100). The study findings will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed academic journals.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.