Immediate Effects and Differences in Brain Functional Connectivity of Electroacupuncture at Hegu During Different Time Periods
- VernacularTitle:不同时辰电针合谷即时效应和脑功能连接差异
- Author:
Shuyu XU
1
;
Shuai ZHANG
;
Xinyuan LIU
;
Weixian LI
;
Guojie SUN
;
Qing TIAN
;
Yanjun DU
Author Information
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords: Chrono-acupuncture; Qi and blood flow; Zi Wu Liu Zhu; Hegu acupoint(LI4); Hippocampus; Cerebral hemodynamics; Brain functional connectivity
- From: World Science and Technology-Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2025;27(5):1244-1252
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
- Abstract: Objective To provide experimental evidence for selecting acupuncture timing in clinical practice,the optimal time for enhancing the brain effects of electroacupuncture at the Hegu acupoint(LI4)by observing brain imaging data,hemodynamic changes and differences in brain functional connectivity across the twelve traditional Chinese time periods were determined.Methods Thirty-six C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into 12 groups corresponding to each of the twelve time periods(Zi,Chou,Yin,Mao,Chen,Si,Wu,Wei,Shen,You,Xu,Hai),with 3 mice per group.Each mouse received electroacupuncture stimulation using the same protocol.Brain imaging data and dynamic hemodynamic changes were collected using functional ultrasound imaging(FUS)ultrasound imaging technology every 0.4 s over a total duration of 420 s,covering pre-acupuncture(resting state),during acupuncture(task state),and post-acupuncture(post-task state)phases.The hippocampal region(HIP)was used as the observation point to analyze changes in functional connectivity between HIP and other brain regions before and after acupuncture.Results Compared to other time periods,the Mao group exhibited the largest whole-brain activation area and the highest average activation signal intensity.The hemodynamic signal increase in the hippocampal region was more pronounced,and the post-acupuncture blood flow signal intensity remained significantly higher than the pre-acupuncture resting state.Functional connectivity data revealed that,using 0.2 as the standard value,the Mao group showed the greatest number of altered brain regions before and after acupuncture.Notably,only in the Mao group was there a significant enhancement in connectivity between the bilateral hippocampal regions.Conclusion The immediate effects of electroacupuncture at the Hegu acupoint(LI4)and brain functional connectivity vary significantly across different time periods,aligning with the traditional Chinese medicine theory of meridian qi and blood flow.Mao time is identified as the optimal period.
