Modulation of central nociceptive coding by acupoint stimulation.
It is universally accepted that acupuncture or acupoint stimulation can produce analgesic effect on patients with painful disorders. The past decades has seen remarkable progress in exploring the central mechanisms of acupuncture-induced pain relief, including the neurotransmitter release and expression of particular receptors and genes in the spinal cord and the brain stem regions. Development of new techniques makes it possible to record and image the brain network patterns underlying pain perception and modulation, and to investigate the role of higher-level brain areas in mediating acupuncture analgesia. This review will present the current understanding of the neural network that is implicated in the modulation of pain by acupuncture.
Luo
Fei
F
Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 10A Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, People's Republic of China. luof@psych.ac.cn
Wang
Jin-Yan
JY
D015667:Acupuncture Analgesia; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009619:Nociceptors / Q000502:physiology*