Abstract
Acupuncture, one of the most prevalent methodologies of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), has been used in Asian countries for curing numerous diseases for thousands of years. However, the true mechanisms underlying the effectiveness of acupuncture are still under debating. The meridian model based on TCM has been used so far, for guiding the practice of acupuncture. In this model, acupuncture is believed to treat the diseased organ of the patient by balancing the Yin and Yang conditions that are regulated by an energy substance (Qi) flowing constantly through the whole meridian, a network connecting all the organs of the body. Therefore, in the acupuncture treatment, it is crucial to select special acupoint(s) along the meridian that links the diseased organs, as well as to modulate the Qi flowing in the meridian through the induction of the needling sensation (De-Qi). On the other hand, a neurobiological model established in the recent decades, has supported the notion that an important mechanism of acupuncture in curing diseases is mediated by the nervous system. Stimulation by needles at acupoints is considered to initiate acupuncture signals through the nerve fibers (e.g., Aβ and Aδ) innervated at the deep tissue near the acupoints. The acupuncture signal is transmitted through the central nervous system, which activates and integrates with the neurons located in broad areas, such as those in the cortex, limbic system, brainstem, spinal cord, which in turn, regulate other systems. The nerve-mediated model provides us a better explanation regarding the biological mechanisms of acupuncture signal transmission in the body which has been broadly documented by both in vivo and in vitro studies under controlled conditions. In this chapter, we will review in particular, the research concerning the influence of acupuncture-elicited signals in the nervous system and how the neural pathways mediate the therapeutic effects of acupuncture.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Ballegaard S, Karpatschoff B, Holck JA, Meyer CN, Trojaborg W (1995) Acupuncture in angina pectoris: Do psycho-social and neurophysiological factors relate to the effect? Acupunct Electrother Res 20: 101–116
Berge O-G, Hole K (1980) Morphine analgesia measured by the tail flick (TF) test is not reduced by 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) blockers. Neurosci Lett Suppl 5: S106
Cao XD (2002) Scientific basis of acupuncture analgesia. Acupuncture Electro Ther Res 27: 1–14
Cao XD, Xu SF, Lu WX (1983) Inhibition of sympathetic nervous system by acupuncture. Acupunct Electrother Res 8: 25–35
Ceccherelli F, Bordin M, Gagliardi G, Caravello M (2001) Comparison between superficial and deep acupuncture in the treatment of the shoulder’s myofascial pain: A randomized and controlled study. Acupuncture Electrother Res 26: 229–238
Chen GB, Li SC, Jiang CC (1986) Clinical studies on neurophysiological and biochemical basis of AA. America Journal of Chinese Medicine 14: 86–95
Chiang CY, Chang CT, Chu HC, Yang LF (1973) Peripheral afferent pathway for AA. Scientia Sinica [B] 16: 210–217
Chiang CY, Liu JY, Chu TH, Pai YH, Chang SC (1975) Studies of spinal ascending pathway for effect of AA in rabbits. Scientia Sinica [B] 18: 651–658
Chiu JH (2002) How is the motility of gastrointestinal sphincters modulated by acupmoxa. In: Sato A, Li P, Campbell JL (eds) Acupuncture: Is There a Physiological Basis? Excerpta Medica International Congress Series 1238. pp 141–147
Cho ZH, Chung SC, Jones JP, Park JB, Park HJ, Lee HJ, Wong EK, Min BI (1998) New findings of the correlation between acupoints and corresponding brain cortices using functional MRI. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 95: 2670–2673
Department of Physiology and Acupuncture Research Group, Hua Shan Hospital, Shanghai First Medical College (1973) Observations on the absence of acupuncture effect in certain neurological patients. Kexue Tongbao 18: 90–93
Fang JL, Krings T, Weidemann J, Meister IG, Thron A (2004) Functional MRI in healthy subjects during acupuncture: Different effects of needle rotation in real and false acupoints. Neuroradiology 46: 359–362
Fields HL, Basbaum AI (1978) Brainstem control of spinal pain-transmission neurons. Ann Rev Physiol 40: 217–248
Fields HL, Basbaum AI (1979) Anatomy and physiology of a descending pain control system. In: Binica JJ, Liebeskind JC, Albe-Fessard DG (eds). Advances in Pain Research and Therapy. Raven Press, New York. pp 427–440
Han JS (1987) A mesolimbic neuronal loop of analgesia. In: Tiengo M (ed) Advances in Pain Research and Therapy. Vol 10. Raven, New York. p 197
Hsieh J (1998) Brain activation by acupuncture with “De-Qi”: A PET study. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Functional Mapping of the Human Brain, Montreal, Canada, July 7–12, 1998: S440
Hui KK, Liu J, Makris N, Gollub RL, Chen AJ, Moore CI, Kennedy DN, Rosen BR, Kwong KK (2000) Acupuncture modulates the limbic system and subcortical gray structures of the human brain: Evidence from fMRI studies in normal subjects. Hum Brain Mapp 9: 13–25
Kandel ER, Schwartz JH, Jessell TM (2000) Principles of Neural Science. 4th edn. McGraw-Hill, New York. pp 482–486
Kong J, Ma L, Gollub RL, Wei J, Yang X, Li D, Weng X, Jia F, Wang C, Li F, Li R, Zhuang D (2002) A pilot study of functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain during manual and electro-acupuncture stimulation of acupuncture point (LI-4 Hegu) in normal subjects reveals differential brain activation between methods. J Altern Complement Med 8: 411–419
Li P (2002) Neural mechanisms of the effect of acupuncture on cardiovascular disease. In: Sato A, Li P, Campbell JL (eds) Acupuncture: Is There a Physiological Basis? Excerpta Medica International congress series 1238. pp 71–77
Li WM, Wu GC, Arita H, Hanaoka K (2002) Acupuncture stimulation inhibits somato-renal sympathetic A-and C-reflexes in anesthetized rats. Acupuncture Electrother Res 27: 119–127
Li G, Cheung RT, Ma QY, Yang ES (2003) Visual cortical activations on fMRI upon stimulation of the vision-implicated acupoints. Neuroreport 14: 669–673
Litscher G, Rachbauer D, Ropele S, Wang L, Schikora D, Fazekas F, Ebner (2004) Acupuncture using laser needles modulates brain function: first evidence from functional transcranial Doppler sonography and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Lasers Med Sci 19: 6–11
Liu WC, Feldman SC, Cook DB, Hung DL, Xu T, Kalnin AJ, and Komisaruk BR (2004) fMRI study of acupuncture-induced periaqueductal gray activity in humans. Neuroreport 15: 1937–1940
Lu GW (1983) Characteristics of afferent fiber innervation on acupuncture point Zusanli. America Journal of Physiology 245: R606–R612
Melchart D, Thormaehlen J, Hager S, Liao J, Linde K, Weidenhammer W (2003) Acupuncture versus placebo versus sumatriptan for early treatment of migraine attacks: a randomized controlled trial. J Intern Med 253: 181–188
Melzack R, Wall PD (1962) On nature of cutaneous sensory mechanisms. Brain 85: 331
Meng J (2004) The effects of acupuncture in treatment of coronary heart diseases. J Tradit Chin Med 24: 16–19
Middlekauff HR, Hui K, Yu JL, Hamilton MA, Fonarow GC, Moriguchi J, Maclellan WR, Hage A (2002) Acupuncture inhibits sympathetic activation during mental stress in advanced heart failure patients. J Card Fail 8: 399–406
Middlekauff HR, Shah JB, Yu JL, Hui K (2004) Acupuncture effects on autonomic responses to cold pressure and handgrip exercise in healthy humans. Clin Auton Res 14: 113–118
Molsberger AF, Mau J, Pawelec DB, Winkler J (2002) Does acupuncture improve the orthopedic management of chronic low back pain—a randomized blinded, controlled trial with 3 months follow-up. Pain 99: 579–587
Napadow V, Makris N, Liu J, Kettner NW, Kwong KK, Hui KK (2005) Effects of electroacupuncture versus manual acupuncture on the human brain as measured by fMRI. Hum Brain Mapp 24: 193–205
Pomeranz B, Paley D (1979) Electroacupuncture hypalgesia is mediated by afferent nerve impulse: an electrophysiological study in mice. Experimental Neurology 66: 398–402
Proudfit HK (1979) Efferents of medullary raphe lesions on morphine-induced analgesia and nociceptive threshold: dependence on the post-lesion test interval. Soc Neuroscience Abstr 5: 615
Segal M, Sandberg D (1977) Analgesia produced by stimulation of catecholamine nuclei in rat brain. Brain Res 123: 369–372
Shen J (2001) Research on the neurophysiological mechanisms of acupuncture: review of selected studies and methodological issues. J Altern Complement Med 7 Suppl 1: S121–S127
Siedentopf CM, Golaszewski SM, Mottaghy FM, Ruff CC, Felber S, Schlager A (2002) Functional magnetic resonance imaging detects activation of the visual association cortex during laser acupuncture of the foot in humans. Neurosci Lett 327: 53–56
Smith FW Jr (1992) Acupuncture for cardiovascular disorders. Probl Vet Med 4: 125–131
Toda K (2002) Afferent nerve characteristics during acupuncture stimulation. In: Sato A, Li P, Campbell JL (eds) Acupuncture: Is There a Physiological Basis? Excerpta Medica International Congress Series 1238. pp 49–61
Wu MT, Sheen JM, Chuang KH, Yang P, Chin SL, Tsai CY, Chen CJ, Liao JR, Lai PH, Chu KA, Pan HB, Yang CF (2002) Neuronal specificity of acupuncture response: A fMRI study with electroacupuncture. Neuroimage 16: 1028–1037
Yoo SS, Teh EK, Blinder RA, Jolesz FA (2004) Modulation of cerebellar activities by acupuncture stimulation: Evidence from fMRI study. Neuroimage 22: 932–940
Yu J (2002) Induction of ovulation with acupuncture. In: Sato A, Li P, Campbell JL (eds) Acupuncture: Is There a Physiological Basis? Excerpta Medica International Congress Series 1238. pp 133–139
Zhang AZ, Huang DK, Zeng D, Zhang L, Wang DL (1981) The changes of endorphins in perfusate of certain brain nuclei in rabbits during acupuncture analgesia. Sheng Li Xue Bao (Acta Physiologics Sinica) 33: 8–16
Zhang WT, Jin Z, Cui GH, Zhang KL, Zhang L, Zeng YW, Luo F, Chen AC, Han JS (2003) Relations between brain network activation and analgesic effect induced by low vs. high frequency electrical acupoint stimulation in different subjects: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Brain Res 982: 168–178
Zhu JM, He XP, Cao XD (1990) Changes of releases of beta-endorphin-like immunoreactive substances and noradrenaline in rabbit’s preoptic area during acupuncture analgesia. Sheng Li Xue Bao (Acta Physiologics Sinica) 42: 188–193
Zhou PH, Qian PD, Huang DK, Gu HY, Wang HR (1979) A study of the relationships between the points of the channels and peripheral nerves. National Symposia of Acupucture-Moxibusion & Acupuncture Anaesthesia. Beijing. p 302
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Tsinghua University Press, Beijing and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Zhu, J., Kennedy, D.N., Cao, X. (2010). Neural Transmission of Acupuncture Signal. In: Xia, Y., Cao, X., Wu, G., Cheng, J. (eds) Acupuncture Therapy for Neurological Diseases. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-10857-0_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-10857-0_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-10855-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-10857-0
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)