Abstract
Acupuncture is a practice of treatment based on influencing specific points on the body by inserting needles. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the aim of acupuncture treatment for pain management is to use specific acupoints to relieve excess, activate qi (or vital energy), and improve blood circulation. In this context, the Hegu point is one of the most widely-used acupoints for this purpose, and it has been linked to having an analgesic effect. However, there exists considerable debate as to its scientific validity. In this pilot study, we aim to identify the functional connectivity related to the three main types of acupuncture manipulations and also identify an analgesic effect based on the hemodynamic response as measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). The cortical response of eleven healthy subjects was obtained using fNIRS during an acupuncture procedure. A multiscale analysis based on wavelet transform coherence was employed to assess the functional connectivity of corresponding channel pairs within the left and right somatosensory region. The wavelet analysis was focused on the very-low frequency oscillations (VLFO, 0.01–0.08 Hz) and the low frequency oscillations (LFO, 0.08–0.15 Hz). A mixed model analysis of variance was used to appraise statistical differences in the wavelet domain for the different acupuncture stimuli. The hemodynamic response after the acupuncture manipulations exhibited strong activations and distinctive cortical networks in each stimulus. The results of the statistical analysis showed significant differences () between the tasks in both frequency bands. These results suggest the existence of different stimuli-specific cortical networks in both frequency bands and the anaesthetic effect of the Hegu point as measured by fNIRS.
Highlights
Pain is a primary neurophysiological function, which enables us to perceive severe discomfort or uncomfortable sensations
We aim to determine the cortical functional connectivity related to the main three types of acupuncture stimulation and identify an analgesic effect based on the hemodynamic response as measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)
Each acupuncture manipulation was applied within the time indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 4, and four channels were used only for illustration purposes
Summary
Pain is a primary neurophysiological function, which enables us to perceive severe discomfort or uncomfortable sensations. Pain serves as a warning mechanism for the brain to act against something wrong in the body and has obvious importance for survival. Pain is a major concern in society because it is a significant public-health problem and is a burden to the economy [2]. Pain affects our daily activities and decreases our quality of life considerably. Since the early days of our civilization, treatments and remedies have been searched for and proposed to mitigate, reduce, and eradicate pain. One of these methods, which has been developed over the centuries, is acupuncture
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