Effect of Electroacupuncture on Pain Perception and Pain-Related Affection: Dissociation or Interaction Based on the Anterior Cingulate Cortex and S1.

Electroacupuncture (EA) can effectively modulate pain perception and pain-related negative affect; however, we do not know whether the effect of EA on sensation and affect is parallel, or dissociated, interactional. In this study, we observed the effects of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) lesion and the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) activation on pain perception, pain-related affection, and neural oscillation in S1. ACC lesions did not affect pain perception but relieved pain-paired aversion. S1 activation increased pain perception and anxious behavior. EA can mitigate pain perception regardless of whether there is an ACC lesion. Chronic pain may increase the delta and theta band oscillatory activity in the S1 brain region and decrease the oscillatory activity in the alpha, beta, and gamma bands. EA intervention may inhibit the oscillatory activity of the alpha and beta bands. These results suggest that EA may mitigate chronic pain by relieving pain perception and reducing pain-related affection through different mechanisms. This evidence builds upon findings from previous studies of chronic pain and EA treatment.

[Feasibility of Joint Application of Techniques of Optogenetics and Neuroelectrophysiology to Research of Acupuncture Analgesia].

Since the invention of optogenetic technology, it has greatly promoted the development of neuroscience. Currently, optogenetic approaches have been mostly used to map neural circuits and new neuropharmacology but are rarely seen in the research field of acupuncture analgesia. The mechanism of neural circuits contributing to acupuncture analgesia, an important research hotspot in recent years, has not been fully determined. The optogenetic techniques can be used to modulate and control specific cells, provides highly precise spatial and temporal resolution, is repeatable, and may functionally dissect neuronal networks in vivo. The neuronal activities and their information transmission, processing and storage in intercluster neural networks in different brain regions, and the correlation between behavioral changes and electrical activities of neurons in vivo studies are mainly captured by the implanted microelectropode array, etc. If these two (or more) approaches are combined together, it is definitely and highly helpful to reveal the driving dynamics of neural circuits, plasticity and temporal-spatial activity mode of neurons, as well as behavioral reactions of animals with chronic pain during acupuncture analgesia and may open a new prospect for the application of acupuncture analgesia study.