Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42131703›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in neuroscience2026

Functional connectivity changes in the thalamocortical network due to neck pain and the multiscale regulatory effects of acupuncture: a cross-scale multi-omics neuroimaging study.

Zhen Gao, Jing Zhang, Jia-Hui Chang, Hai-Jun Wang, Cheng Xu, Lai-Xi Ji

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in neuroscience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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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

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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

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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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

6 authors.

Zhen Gao *Experimental Management Center, Shanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China.
Jing Zhang *Acupuncture and Moxibustion Department II, Affiliated Hospital of Shanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China.
Jia-Hui Chang *Second Clinical Medical College, Shanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China.
Hai-Jun WangSecond Clinical Medical College, Shanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China.
Cheng XuDepartment of Radiology, Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China.
Lai-Xi JiSecond Clinical Medical College, Shanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Neck pain correlates with multiscale brain abnormalities, but cross-scale mechanisms of acupuncture analgesia are unclear. This study aimed to: (1) Explore differential modulation of thalamic functional networks by verum vs. sham acupuncture; (2) Examine associations between functional connectivity changes and micro gene expression to unravel its multiscale mechanisms. Methods: A total of 130 participants were initially enrolled, and 100 eligible neck pain patients were randomized 1:1 to the verum ( Results: Both groups showed reduced post-treatment VAS ( Conclusion: VA relieves pain via modulating thalamus-anterior cingulate cortex networks, involving immune-inflammation and neural inhibition, providing first multi-scale validation integrating neuroimaging and transcriptomics. Clinical trial registration: This trial was registered with the International Traditional Medicine Clinical Trial Registry (registration number: ITMCTR2023000001) prior to participant enrollment.

Indexed as

acupuncturefunctional magnetic resonance imagingmulti-scale mechanismsneck painthalamus

Identifiers

PMID42131703
PMCPMC13161166

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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.