Short- and long-term modulation of upper limb motor-evoked potentials induced by acupuncture
Short- and long-term modulation of upper limb motor-evoked potentials induced by acupuncture
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DOI：
10.1111/j.1460-9568.2006.04698.x
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发表时间：
2006-04-01
影响因子：
3.4
通讯作者：
Losio, A
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Maioli, C;Falciati, L;Losio, A
本研究的目的是调查在人类的影响，针刺对上肢运动诱发电位（MEP），引起的经颅磁刺激的初级运动皮层。已知外周感觉刺激可用于诱导运动皮层兴奋性的短期和长期变化。数据表明，简单的插入针是一个足够的体感刺激，以诱导MEP振幅的显着调制，其中的迹象（促进或抑制）是特定于所研究的肌肉和针插入点。此外，针刺下肢部位后，还观察到上肢肌肉MEP的变化，揭示了针刺的远距离效应的存在。最后，肌肉兴奋性的调节大大超过了针刺的时间，表明中枢神经系统中的长期可塑性变化的诱导。此外，研究结果表明，对肌肉兴奋性的影响并不局限于刺激传统中医所描述的编码良好的穴位，但它们也可以通过针刺非穴位引起，通常不用于治疗目的。针灸观察到的效果可能的神经机制进行了讨论，在有关的神经生理数据的肢体间反射和变化的代表性皮层地图在人类引起的长时间的体感刺激。
The aim of this study was to investigate in humans the effects of acupuncture upon upper-limb motor-evoked potentials (MEPs), elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation of the primary motor cortex. It is known that peripheral sensory stimulation can be used to induce short- and long-term changes in motor cortex excitability. Data show that the simple insertion of the needle is an adequate somatosensory stimulus to induce a significant modulation of MEP amplitude, the sign of which (facilitation or inhibition) is specific to the investigated muscle and to the point of needle insertion. Moreover, MEP changes in upper-limb muscles are also observed following needling of lower-limb sites, revealing the presence of long-distance effects of acupuncture. Finally, the modulation in muscle excitability considerably outlasts the time period of needle application, demonstrating the induction of long-term plastic changes in the central nervous system. In addition, results have shown that the effects on muscle excitability are not restricted to the stimulation of well-coded acupoints, as described in traditional Chinese medicine, but they can also be induced by needling of nonacupoints, normally not used for therapeutic purposes. The possible neuronal mechanisms underlying the observed effects of acupuncture are discussed in relation to the available neurophysiological data regarding the interlimb reflexes and the changes in the representational cortical maps induced in humans by a prolonged somatosensory stimulation.