title: Effects of long-term acupuncture treatment on resting-state brain activity in migraine patients: a randomized controlled trial on active acupoints and inactive acupoints.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Acupuncture has been commonly used for preventing migraine attacks and relieving pain during a migraine, although there is limited knowledge on the physiological mechanism behind this method. The objectives of this study were to compare the differences in brain activities evoked by active acupoints and inactive acupoints and to investigate the possible correlation between clinical variables and brain responses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A randomized controlled trial and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) were conducted. A total of eighty migraineurs without aura were enrolled to receive either active acupoint acupuncture or inactive acupoint acupuncture treatment for 8 weeks, and twenty patients in each group were randomly selected for the fMRI scan at the end of baseline and at the end of treatment. The neuroimaging data indicated that long-term active acupoint therapy elicited a more extensive and remarkable cerebral response compared with acupuncture at inactive acupoints. Most of the regions were involved in the pain matrix, lateral pain system, medial pain system, default mode network, and cognitive components of pain processing. Correlation analysis showed that the decrease in the visual analogue scale (VAS) was significantly related to the increased average Regional homogeneity (ReHo) values in the anterior cingulate cortex in the two groups. Moreover, the decrease in the VAS was associated with increased average ReHo values in the insula which could be detected in the active acupoint group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Long-term active acupoint therapy and inactive acupoint therapy have different brain activities. We postulate that acupuncture at the active acupoint might have the potential effect of regulating some disease-affected key regions and the pain circuitry for migraine, and promote establishing psychophysical pain homeostasis.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR-TRC-13003635.
authors.affiliation: Acupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Jixin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: School of Clinical Medicine, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Fuwen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Acupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Xilin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Acupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Yulin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: Acupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Fumei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Acupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Karen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: von Deneen
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, The Center for Medical Imaging, Huaxi MR Research Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Qiyong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Zili
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Acupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Fanrong
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liang
mesh_terms: D015669:Acupuncture Points; D015670:Acupuncture Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D012146:Rest / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome