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Acupuncture Modulation of Neural Transmitters/Modulators

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Current Research in Acupuncture

Abstract

Acupuncture has historically been in clinical practice in China since a long time and today has spread to many other parts of the world as well. Accumulating evidence shows that manual acupuncture (MA) and electroacupuncture (EA) induce therapeutic effects on multiple disorders that have been demonstrated not only by the Oriental clinicians but also by Western medical community. A large body of literature shows that acupuncture affects the central nervous system (CNS) through regulation of neurotransmitters in terms of their synthesis, release, uptake, and degradation, suggesting an involvement of neurotransmitters in acupuncture therapy. In this chapter, we will update on these vantage points in view of the recent studies on acupuncture effects on neural transmitters/modulators. Besides technical development (e.g., fMRI and PET for measuring endogenous opioid concentrations in the brain), recent evidence suggests that (1) acupuncture can induce dual-directional regulation of endogenous opioids, monoamine substance P, and other transmitters/modulators, depending on acupuncture condition and body status (e.g., normal vs. disease); (2) acupuncture can increase the mRNA expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and enhance the expression of neurotrophic factor (NTF) receptors; (3) acupuncture downregulates the nitric oxide (NO) level in the CNS and elevates the NO content in plasma and certain organs; (4) EA can suppress the activation of acetylcholinesterase to attenuate acetylcholine degradation; (5) EA has a better effect on enhancing 5-HT mRNA expression than MA; (6) MA and EA have differential effects on different subtypes of glutamate receptors, leading to decreased expression of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor and increased expression of AMPA receptor; and (7) EA increases the concentration of prostaglandins in plasma in some diseased states. These studies show that acupuncture induces comprehensive effects on transmitters/modulators in the CNS, and the outcome can be dual-directional depending on acupuncture approach and the body status.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (AT-004422 and HD-034852) and the Vivian L. Smith Neurologic Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Jianfeng Liang & Ying Xia

  2. Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA

    Jianfeng Liang & Ying Xia

  3. The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Ying Xia

Authors
  1. Jianfeng Liang
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  2. Ying Xia
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Correspondence to Ying Xia .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Neurosurgery, The University of Texas Medical School a, 6431 Fannin Street, Houston, 77030, Texas, USA

    Ying Xia

  2. , Shanghai Research Center for Acupuncture, Fudan University, Guoshoujing Road 199, Shanghai, 201203, China, People's Republic

    Guanghong Ding

  3. Shanghai Medical School, Inst. Acupuncture Research, Fudan University, Yi Xue Yuan Road 138, Shanghai, 200032, China, People's Republic

    Gen-Cheng Wu

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Liang, J., Xia, Y. (2013). Acupuncture Modulation of Neural Transmitters/Modulators. In: Xia, Y., Ding, G., Wu, GC. (eds) Current Research in Acupuncture. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3357-6_1

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