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Abstract
The needling sensation of deqi is considered by most acupuncturists to be an important
component of acupuncture, yet neuroimaging research that investigates this needle
sensation has been limited. In this study we have investigated the effect of deqi
and acute pain needling sensations upon brain fMRI blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD)
signals. Seventeen right-handed participants who received acupuncture at the right
LI-4 (Hegu) acupoint were imaged in a 3T MRI scanner. fMRI datasets were classified,
on the basis of psychophysical participants' reports of needling scores, into those
that were associated with predominantly deqi sensations versus those with predominantly
acute pain sensations. Brain areas showing changes in BOLD signal increases (activations)
and decreases (deactivations) were identified. Differences were demonstrated in the
pattern of activations and deactivations between groupings of scans associated with
deqi versus pain sensations. For the deqi grouping, significant deactivations occurred,
whereas significant activations did not. In contrast, the predominantly acute pain
grouping was associated with a mixture of activations and deactivations. For the comparison
between the predominately deqi sensation grouping and the acute pain sensation grouping
(deqi>pain contrast), only negative Z value voxels resulted (mainly from deactivations
in the deqi grouping and activations in the pain grouping) in the limbic/sub-cortical
structures and the cerebellum regions of interest. Our results show the importance
of collecting and accounting for needle sensation data in neuroimaging studies of
acupuncture.
2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.