The cumulative therapeutic effect of acupuncture in patients with migraine without aura: Evidence from dynamic alterations of intrinsic brain activity and effective connectivity

Chen, Yilei; Kang, Yingjie; Luo, Shilei; Liu, Shanshan; Wang, Bo; Gong, Zhigang; Huang, Yanwen; Wang, Hui; Zhan, Songhua; Tan, Weihan

doi:10.3389/fnins.2022.925698

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…A few studies [ 52 , 53 , 57 , 58 ] explored whether acupuncture-related functional brain changes were associated with patients´ improvement after treatment, showing an association between changes in brain activity and changes in the severity and frequency of migraine attacks.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Imaging the brain and vascular reactions to headache treatments: a systematic review

et al. 2023

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Background Neuroimaging studies have made an important contribution to our understanding of headache pathophysiology. This systematic review aims to provide a comprehensive overview and critical appraisal of mechanisms of actions of headache treatments and potential biomarkers of treatment response disclosed by imaging studies. Main body We performed a systematic literature search on PubMed and Embase databases for imaging studies investigating central and vascular effects of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments used to abort and prevent headache attacks. Sixty-three studies were included in the final qualitative analysis. Of these, 54 investigated migraine patients, 4 cluster headache patients and 5 patients with medication overuse headache. Most studies used functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (n = 33) or molecular imaging (n = 14). Eleven studies employed structural MRI and a few used arterial spin labeling (n = 3), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (n = 3) or magnetic resonance angiography (n = 2). Different imaging modalities were combined in eight studies. Despite of the variety of imaging approaches and results, some findings were consistent. This systematic review suggests that triptans may cross the blood–brain barrier to some extent, though perhaps not sufficiently to alter the intracranial cerebral blood flow. Acupuncture in migraine, neuromodulation in migraine and cluster headache patients, and medication withdrawal in patients with medication overuse headache could promote headache improvement by reverting headache-affected pain processing brain areas. Yet, there is currently no clear evidence for where each treatment acts, and no firm imaging predictors of efficacy. This is mainly due to a scarcity of studies and heterogeneous treatment schemes, study designs, subjects, and imaging techniques. In addition, most studies used small sample sizes and inadequate statistical approaches, which precludes generalizable conclusions. Conclusion Several aspects of headache treatments remain to be elucidated using imaging approaches, such as how pharmacological preventive therapies work, whether treatment-related brain changes may influence therapy effectiveness, and imaging biomarkers of clinical response. In the future, well-designed studies with homogeneous study populations, adequate sample sizes and statistical approaches are needed.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Imaging the brain and vascular reactions to headache treatments: a systematic review

et al. 2023

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“…Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying VMI can help provide interventions for individuals with VMI difficulties. In addition, previous studies suggested that EC analysis can more accurately determine causal relationships between brain regions, and thus, measures how one brain region influences another in a specific direction, whereas unidirectional functional connectivity analysis only provides information on the correlation between brain regions [ 22 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in effective connectivity during the visual-motor integration tasks: a preliminary f-NIRS study

Wang,

Li,

Wang

et al. 2024

Behav Brain Funct

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Background Visual-motor integration (VMI) is an essential skill in daily life. The present study aimed to use functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) technology to explore the effective connectivity (EC) changes among brain regions during VMI activities of varying difficulty levels. Methods A total of 17 healthy participants were recruited for the study. Continuous Performance Test (CPT), Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult Version (BRIEF-A), and Beery VMI test were used to evaluate attention performance, executive function, and VMI performance. Granger causality analysis was performed for the VMI task data to obtain the EC matrix for all participants. One-way ANOVA analysis was used to identify VMI load-dependent EC values among different task difficulty levels from brain network and channel perspectives, and partial correlation analysis was used to explore the relationship between VMI load-dependent EC values and behavioral performance. Results We found that the EC values of dorsal attention network (DAN) → default mode network (DMN), DAN → ventral attention network (VAN), DAN → frontoparietal network (FPN), and DAN → somatomotor network (SMN) in the complex condition were higher than those in the simple and moderate conditions. Further channel analyses indicated that the EC values of the right superior parietal lobule (SPL) → right superior frontal gyrus (SFG), right middle occipital gyrus (MOG) → left SFG, and right MOG → right postcentral gyrus (PCG) in the complex condition were higher than those in the simple and moderate conditions. Subsequent partial correlation analysis revealed that the EC values from DAN to DMN, VAN, and SMN were positively correlated with executive function and VMI performance. Furthermore, the EC values of right MOG → left SFG and right MOG → right PCG were positively correlated with attention performance. Conclusions The DAN is actively involved during the VMI task and thus may play a critical role in VMI processes, in which two key brain regions (right SPL, right MOG) may contribute to the EC changes in response to increasing VMI load. Meanwhile, bilateral SFG and right PCG may also be closely related to the VMI performance.

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“… 22–24 Chen et al showed that acupuncture might relieve migraine without aura (MwoA) by increasing the EC of superior lobe of left cerebellum, rostral ventromedial medulla, and right precuneus. 25 No investigations have been done to determine the direction of the altered connections, despite the possibility that the specific internal brain effective connectivity may potentially be affected after the EA intervention of KOA.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Altered Brain Functional and Effective Connectivity Induced by Electroacupuncture in Rats Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Transection

Lu,

Wu,

Shen

et al. 2024

JPR

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Background The chronic pain arising from knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a prevalent clinical manifestation. As a traditional Chinese approach, electroacupuncture (EA) has a positive influence in relieving chronic pain from KOA. The study aims to explore functional connectivity (FC) and effective connectivity (EC) alterations induced by EA in anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) rat model of KOA using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Methods After the establishment of ACLT, rats were randomly divided into the EA group and the sham-EA group. The EA group received EA intervention while the sham-EA group received sham-intervention for 3 weeks. Mechanical pain threshold (MPT) assessment was performed before and after intervention, and fMRI was conducted after intervention. Results EA intervention effectively relieved pain in post-ACLT rats. Results of rest-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) analysis revealed that compared with the sham-EA group, the EA group had higher FC between the right raphe and the left auditory cortex, the left caudate_ putamen and the left internal capsule (IC), as well as the right zona incerta (ZI) and the left piriform cortex, but lower FC between the right raphe and the left hippocampus ventral, as well as the right septum and the left septum. Furthermore, Granger causality analysis (GCA) found the altered EC between the right septum and the left septum, as well as the left IC and the right septum. Conclusion The results confirmed the effect of EA on analgesia in post- ACLT rats. The alterations of FC and EC, mainly involving basal ganglia and limbic system neural connections, might be one of the neural mechanisms underlying the effect of EA, providing novel information about connectomics plasticity of EA following ACLT.

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The cumulative therapeutic effect of acupuncture in patients with migraine without aura: Evidence from dynamic alterations of intrinsic brain activity and effective connectivity

Cited by 8 publications

References 49 publications

Imaging the brain and vascular reactions to headache treatments: a systematic review

Imaging the brain and vascular reactions to headache treatments: a systematic review

Changes in effective connectivity during the visual-motor integration tasks: a preliminary f-NIRS study

Altered Brain Functional and Effective Connectivity Induced by Electroacupuncture in Rats Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Transection

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