ReviewChinese medicine2025
Skin-Brain Axis: neural pathways in acupuncture treatment.
Review in Chinese medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 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
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effect of acupuncture on monoaminergic neurotransmitters in animal models of vascular dementia: a preclinical systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Pooled it
- Effectiveness and safety of acupuncture therapies for intractable hiccups: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy of Superficial Acupuncture Stimulation with Dynamic Mobilization in Chronic Neck Pain: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of pain research · 2026Trial
- Gut-Brain-Skin Axis: From Mechanistic Insights to Translational Applications in Neurocosmetics.Dermatology and therapy · 2026Review
- Article
- Evaluating the Effect of Electroacupuncture in Knee Osteoarthritis: Protocol for a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial [Letter].Journal of pain research · 2026Article
- Antitumor effects of acupuncture and moxibustion: from immune modulation to tumor microenvironment remodeling.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Revolutionizing the understanding of acupoint biology and acupuncture mechanisms through spatial omics: current perspectives and future directions.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Breaking the vicious cycle: a bibliometric and visual analysis of the bidirectional relationship between pruritus and negative emotions.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
- Evaluating the Effect of Electroacupuncture in Knee Osteoarthritis: Protocol for a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of pain research · 2026Article
- From "spleen governing muscle" to gut microbiota: mechanisms of sarcopenic obesity in perimenopausal women.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
- Integrative perspectives on electroacupuncture modulation of vagal-cholinergic and neuro-immune-metabolic regulation in long COVID.Frontiers in integrative neuroscience · 2026Review
- Acupuncture Activates PI3K/Akt Pathway to Promote Spinal Microglial M2 Polarization and Alleviate Spastic Hemiplegia Following Ischemic Stroke.Journal of inflammation research · 2026Article
- From arthritis to central sensitization: targeting the neuro-immune axis via microglial modulation in acupuncture treatment for Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis-associated pain.Frontiers in immunology · 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
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The "Skin-Brain Axis" hypothesis posits that the skin contains a dense network of nerve endings, neurotransmitters, and neuropeptide receptors capable of detecting tissue damage with high precision and relaying signals to the brain through sensory neurons. Research indicates that therapies involving body surface stimulation, such as acupuncture, modulate brain function. However, there is a paucity of reviews detailing the mechanisms or pathways underlying these therapeutic interventions. This review digs into the neurobiological substrates of acupuncture's efficacy, focusing on three pivotal components: the activation of skin at acupoints, the conduction of peripheral nerve signals, and the subsequent central nervous system responses.
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.