Core Center for Multimodal Evaulation of Acupuncture Mechanisms

描述（申请人提供）：针灸是中国传统医学的一部分，数千年来一直用于治疗多种疾病。最近的科学评估表明，这种疗法可能对包括慢性疼痛在内的许多疾病表现出临床益处，尽管其作用机制尚未得到很好的理解。十多年来，我们的团队一直是针灸机理研究的领先力量。在2003年，我们被授予NCCAM的“卓越中心的研究补充和替代医学”（CERC，NCCAM P01 -AT 002048，PI：罗森）为我们的中心，“针灸作用的神经生物学效应”。迄今为止，我们工作的重点一直是通过评估功能，神经化学和神经解剖学连接的大脑区域的分布式网络来探索针灸疗效的中枢机制。虽然我们的数据一直表明显着的皮层和皮层下的影响，在大脑系统的针灸治疗期间和之后，一个基本的谜仍然是-如何从针灸刺激的局部网站的信号转导到大脑，以产生这些独特的效果？几个研究小组一直在研究针灸治疗的外周效应问题，研究外周神经受体和结缔组织，但没有人将这项工作与针灸的中枢作用联系起来。我们的P30提案旨在填补这一重要的科学空白。有了这个P30核心中心的支持，我们将招募，雇用，并提供实验室支持初级教师谁将有专业知识，在循证评估外周机制针灸行动。通过将新的年轻研究人员整合到已经建立的多学科团队中，作为我们NCCAM卓越中心的一部分，我们将作为一个团队，现在能够将针灸效果的中央和外周评估研究与多模态成像方法相结合，显着提高我们对针灸如何以及为什么调节临床相关结果的理解。我们建立的卓越中心为我们提议的新调查员提供了一个特殊的指导环境。沿着马萨诸塞州总医院的牵头机构，哈佛医学院的Osher研究中心也将是一个参与机构，将他们对补充和替代医学治疗研究的独特视角，并为我们的新教师提供丰富的知识社区。 公共卫生相关性：针灸是中西医结合医疗设施中研究最充分和最有前途的疗法之一。十多年来，马蒂诺生物医学成像中心一直是针灸机制研究的主导力量。有了这个P30核心中心的支持，我们将扩大我们对针灸作用的中枢（大脑）机制的关注，包括对针灸刺激部位生理反应机制的相关研究。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Acupuncture, a component of traditional Chinese medicine, has been used for thousands of years to treat a multitude of ailments. Recent scientific evaluation has suggested that this therapy may demonstrate clinical benefit for a number of conditions including chronic pain, though the mechanisms of action have not been well understood. Our well-established group has been a leading force in acupuncture mechanism research for over a decade. In 2003 we were awarded NCCAM's "Center of Excellence for Research on Complementary and Alternative Medicine" (CERC, NCCAM P01 - AT002048, PI: Rosen) for our Center, "The Neurobiological Effect of Acupuncture Action". The focus of our work thus far has been to explore central mechanisms of acupuncture efficacy by evaluating a distributed network of functionally, neurochemically, and neuroanatomically connected brain regions. While our data has consistently demonstrated significant cortical and subcortical effects on brain systems both during and following acupuncture treatment, a fundamental mystery remains - how are signals transduced from the local site of acupuncture stimulation to the brain in order to engender these unique effects? Several groups have pursued the question of peripheral effects of acupuncture treatment, studying both peripheral nerve receptors and connective tissues, but none have connected this work with acupuncture's central action. It is this important scientific gap that our P30 proposal intends to fill. With this P30 Core Center support, we will recruit, hire, and provide laboratory support for junior faculty who will have expertise in evidence-based evaluations of peripheral mechanisms for acupuncture action. By integrating new young investigators into the multidisciplinary team already established as part of our NCCAM Center of Excellence, we will, as a team, now be able to integrate studies of both central and peripheral evaluations of acupuncture effects with multimodal imaging methods, significantly improving our understanding of how and why acupuncture modulates clinically relevant outcome measures. Our established Center of Excellence provides an exceptional mentoring environment for our proposed new investigator. Along with the lead site of the Massachusetts General Hospital, the Osher Research Center at the Harvard Medical School will also be a participating institution, bringing their unique perspective on research into complementary and alternative medical treatments, and providing a rich intellectual community for our new faculty to interact within. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Acupuncture is one of the most well researched and promising therapies within the Integrative Medicine armamentarium. The Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging has been a leading force in acupuncture mechanism research for over a decade. With this P30 Core Center support, we will expand our focus on central (brain) mechanisms of acupuncture action to include relevant research on mechanisms arising from physiological response at the site of acupuncture stimulation.