title: Acupuncture mobilizes the brain's default mode and its anti-correlated network in healthy subjects.
abstract: Previous work has shown that acupuncture stimulation evokes deactivation of a limbic-paralimbic-neocortical network (LPNN) as well as activation of somatosensory brain regions. This study explores the activity and functional connectivity of these regions during acupuncture vs. tactile stimulation and vs. acupuncture associated with inadvertent sharp pain. Acupuncture during 201 scans and tactile stimulation during 74 scans for comparison at acupoints LI4, ST36 and LV3 was monitored with fMRI and psychophysical response in 48 healthy subjects. Clusters of deactivated regions in the medial prefrontal, medial parietal and medial temporal lobes as well as activated regions in the sensorimotor and a few paralimbic structures can be identified during acupuncture by general linear model analysis and seed-based cross correlation analysis. Importantly, these clusters showed virtual identity with the default mode network and the anti-correlated task-positive network in response to stimulation. In addition, the amygdala and hypothalamus, structures not routinely reported in the default mode literature, were frequently involved in acupuncture. When acupuncture induced sharp pain, the deactivation was attenuated or became activated instead. Tactile stimulation induced greater activation of the somatosensory regions but less extensive deactivation of the LPNN. These results indicate that the deactivation of the LPNN during acupuncture cannot be completely explained by the demand of attention that is commonly proposed in the default mode literature. Our results suggest that acupuncture mobilizes the anti-correlated functional networks of the brain to mediate its actions, and that the effect is dependent on the psychophysical response.
authors: Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 149 13th St., Charlestown, MA 02129, USA. hui@nmr.mgh.harvard.edu
authors: Kathleen K S
authors: KK
authors: Hui
authors: Ovidiu
authors: O
authors: Marina
authors: Joshua D
authors: JD
authors: Claunch
authors: Erika E
authors: EE
authors: Nixon
authors: Jiliang
authors: J
authors: Fang
authors: Jing
authors: J
authors: Liu
authors: Ming
authors: M
authors: Li
authors: Vitaly
authors: V
authors: Napadow
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: Vangel
authors: Nikos
authors: N
authors: Makris
authors: Suk-Tak
authors: ST
authors: Chan
authors: Kenneth K
authors: KK
authors: Kwong
authors: Bruce R
authors: BR
authors: Rosen
mesh_terms: D015669:Acupuncture Points; D015670:Acupuncture Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods; D013997:Time Factors; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology