Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40963943›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in neurology2025

Tension-type headache patients' brain responses to instant acupuncture stimulation: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

Xinyue Zhang, Wenhua Wang, Siyuan Tao, Jun Zhou, Nannan Jiang, Xinling Li, Shengjie Hu, Weiming Luo, Nuo Chen, Yu Fang and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in neurology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Xinyue Zhang *Acupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Wenhua Wang *Department of Radiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Nuclear Corportation 416 Hosptital, Chengdu, China.
Siyuan Tao *Acupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Jun ZhouAcupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Nannan JiangAcupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Xinling LiAcupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Shengjie HuAcupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Weiming LuoAcupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Nuo ChenAcupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Yu FangDepartment of Neurology, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Huabin ZhengDepartment of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Fanrong LiangAcupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Fang ZengAcupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Zhengjie LiAcupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the effects of instant acupuncture stimulation on brain activity in patients with tension-type headache (TTH) compared to healthy controls (HCs). Methods: Thirty-six TTH patients and thirty-six HCs participated in this study. Both groups underwent resting-state and acupuncture-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans. The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF), fractional ALFF (fALFF), and regional homogeneity (ReHo) were used to assess spontaneous brain activity of participants. Additionally, participants' acupuncture sensation scores during stimulation were recorded, and brain activity differences between TTH patients and HCs with similar sensations (with predominately Results: Both groups showed activation in the superior frontal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, and precuneus, along with deactivation in the precentral/postcentral gyrus, inferior occipital gyrus, lingual gyrus, and superior temporal gyrus during acupuncture stimulation. Notably, TTH patients also exhibited increased activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and caudate nucleus, as well as decreased activity in the parietal operculum. TTH patients and HCs with acute pain sensations demonstrated similar spontaneous functional brain activity in the precentral/postcentral gyrus, lingual gyrus, and cuneus/precuneus. Furthermore, HCs with pronounced Conclusion: The modification of functional activity in the sensorimotor system, default mode network (DMN), and visual network (VN) during acupuncture stimulation suggest common brain responses in both TTH patients and HCs. In addition, acupuncture at Clinical trial registration: This study was officially registered on the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR, https://www.chictr.org.cn/) as a sub-study of the parent clinical trial (No. ChiCTR2100042915).

Indexed as

acupuncturefunctional magnet resonance imaginginstant effectsmultiple analysis methodstension-type headache

Identifiers

PMID40963943
PMCPMC12436097

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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.