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组成部分，几千年来一直被用来治疗多种疾病。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情况显示出临床益处，尽管其作用机制尚未被很好地了解。十多年来，我们久负盛名的团队一直是针灸机制研究的主导力量。2003年，我们因“针刺作用的神经生物学效应”而荣获NCCAM的“补充和替代医学研究卓越中心”(CERC，NCCAM P01-AT002048，PI：ROSEN)。到目前为止，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上连接的大脑区域的分布网络来探索针灸疗效的中心机制。虽然我们的数据一直表明，在针灸治疗期间和之后，大脑系统都会受到显著的皮质和皮质下影响，但一个根本的谜团仍然存在--信号是如何从针灸刺激的局部部位传导到大脑，以产生这些独特的影响的？有几个小组一直在探索针灸治疗的外周效应问题，研究外周神经受体和结缔组织，但没有一个小组将这项工作与针灸的中枢作用联系起来。我们的P30提案打算填补的正是这一重要的科学空白。有了P30核心中心的支持，我们将招聘、聘用并为初级教员提供实验室支持，这些教员将在针灸作用的外围机制的循证评估方面拥有专业知识。通过将新的年轻研究人员整合到作为我们NCCAM卓越中心的一部分而建立的多学科团队中，我们作为一个团队，现在将能够将对针灸效果的中央和外围评估的研究与多模式成像方法相结合，显著提高我们对针灸如何以及为什么调节临床相关结果指标的理解。我们建立的卓越中心为我们推荐的新调查员提供了一个特殊的指导环境。除了马萨诸塞州综合医院的领头羊，哈佛医学院的Osher研究中心也将是参与机构，将他们在研究方面的独特视角带到补充和替代医学治疗中，并为我们的新教员提供一个丰富的智力社区进行互动。 与公共卫生相关：针灸是中西医结合医疗机构中研究最充分、前景最好的疗法之一。十多年来，马蒂诺斯生物医学成像中心一直是针灸机制研究的主导力量。在P30核心中心的支持下，我们将扩大对针刺作用的中枢(脑)机制的关注，包括对针刺刺激部位生理反应产生的机制的相关研究。

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.