The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Acupuncture needling sensation: the neural correlates of deqi using fMRI

Acupuncture needling sensation: the neural correlates of deqi using fMRI
Acupuncture needling sensation: the neural correlates of deqi using fMRI
The needling sensation of deqi is considered by most acupuncturists to be an important component of acupuncture, yet neuroimaging research that investigates this needle sensation has been limited. In this study we have investigated the effect of deqi and acute pain needling sensations upon brain fMRI blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals. Seventeen right-handed participants who received acupuncture at the right LI-4 (Hegu) acupoint were imaged in a 3T MRI scanner. fMRI datasets were classified, on the basis of psychophysical participants' reports of needling scores, into those that were associated with predominantly deqi sensations versus those with predominantly acute pain sensations. Brain areas showing changes in BOLD signal increases (activations) and decreases (deactivations) were identified. Differences were demonstrated in the pattern of activations and deactivations between groupings of scans associated with deqi versus pain sensations. For the deqi grouping, significant deactivations occurred, whereas significant activations did not. In contrast, the predominantly acute pain grouping was associated with a mixture of activations and deactivations. For the comparison between the predominately deqi sensation grouping and the acute pain sensation grouping (deqi>pain contrast), only negative Z value voxels resulted (mainly from deactivations in the deqi grouping and activations in the pain grouping) in the limbic/sub-cortical structures and the cerebellum regions of interest. Our results show the importance of collecting and accounting for needle sensation data in neuroimaging studies of acupuncture
0006-8993
111-118
Asghar, Aziz U.R.
c8b29441-5c82-4d63-be02-b3cb405941b5
Green, Gary
bab925e2-44c6-42c6-b58f-d39e0ac6c5f8
Lythgoe, Mark F.
1178fdde-3f48-4840-a4ec-87c19bffd624
Lewith, George
0fc483fa-f17b-47c5-94d9-5c15e65a7625
MacPherson, Hugh
6485cd22-1dc3-4600-9e00-d3187e981663
Asghar, Aziz U.R.
c8b29441-5c82-4d63-be02-b3cb405941b5
Green, Gary
bab925e2-44c6-42c6-b58f-d39e0ac6c5f8
Lythgoe, Mark F.
1178fdde-3f48-4840-a4ec-87c19bffd624
Lewith, George
0fc483fa-f17b-47c5-94d9-5c15e65a7625
MacPherson, Hugh
6485cd22-1dc3-4600-9e00-d3187e981663

Asghar, Aziz U.R., Green, Gary, Lythgoe, Mark F., Lewith, George and MacPherson, Hugh (2010) Acupuncture needling sensation: the neural correlates of deqi using fMRI. Brain Research, 1315, 111-118. (doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2009.12.019).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The needling sensation of deqi is considered by most acupuncturists to be an important component of acupuncture, yet neuroimaging research that investigates this needle sensation has been limited. In this study we have investigated the effect of deqi and acute pain needling sensations upon brain fMRI blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals. Seventeen right-handed participants who received acupuncture at the right LI-4 (Hegu) acupoint were imaged in a 3T MRI scanner. fMRI datasets were classified, on the basis of psychophysical participants' reports of needling scores, into those that were associated with predominantly deqi sensations versus those with predominantly acute pain sensations. Brain areas showing changes in BOLD signal increases (activations) and decreases (deactivations) were identified. Differences were demonstrated in the pattern of activations and deactivations between groupings of scans associated with deqi versus pain sensations. For the deqi grouping, significant deactivations occurred, whereas significant activations did not. In contrast, the predominantly acute pain grouping was associated with a mixture of activations and deactivations. For the comparison between the predominately deqi sensation grouping and the acute pain sensation grouping (deqi>pain contrast), only negative Z value voxels resulted (mainly from deactivations in the deqi grouping and activations in the pain grouping) in the limbic/sub-cortical structures and the cerebellum regions of interest. Our results show the importance of collecting and accounting for needle sensation data in neuroimaging studies of acupuncture

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: 22 February 2010

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 73634
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/73634
ISSN: 0006-8993
PURE UUID: 80fe755e-84e0-4d91-acb6-87cd50b0f258

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 10 Mar 2010
Last modified: 13 Mar 2024 22:14

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Aziz U.R. Asghar
Author: Gary Green
Author: Mark F. Lythgoe
Author: George Lewith
Author: Hugh MacPherson

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×