Progress in the BOLD-fMRI Brain Effect of Acupuncture Intervention in Alzheimer's Disease / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

Alzheimer' disease(AD)is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by memory impairment and multiple cognitive deterioration.Acupuncture intervention in AD has potential efficacy,but the mechanism of onset is not clear.Blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging(BOLD-fMRI)has the unique advantages of accurately locating abnormal AD brain areas and monitoring and analyzing functional activities,providing technical support for the study of AD brain effects.It have found that abnormal changes in functional activity in response to brain regions and brain networks are closely related to the development of AD.Previous studies have shown that acupuncture can exert therapeutic effects by improving the functional impairment of multiple cognitive-related brain regions and brain networks in AD,which may be the mechanism of brain function in AD.Based on BOLD-fMRI technology,this paper elaborates on three aspects:commonly used data analysis methods of AD,the brain function mechanism of AD pathogenesis,and the brain effect study of acupuncture intervention in AD.In order to provide a reference for further exploring the brain effect of acupuncture intervention in AD.

Research Progress on Neurobiological Mechanism of Acupuncture Intervention on Fear Memory of PTSD / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

Acupuncture is effective in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD),and can effectively improve patients'anxiety and fear.The mechanism of acupuncture intervention in PTSD has been widely concerned and made some progress.This paper combs and analyzes the relevant data on the neurobiological mechanism of acupuncture intervention on fear memory in PTSD in recent years,and finds that the mechanism of acupuncture intervention in PTSD is closely related to repairing structural damage in key brain regions of fear memory,regulating abnormal brain network connections,inhibiting stress-induced neuroinflammatory response,and regulating the expression of neuronal plasticity molecules and neural signal transduction molecules.This provides a data basis for further research and application of the biological mechanism of acupuncture intervention on PTSD.

Effects of acupuncture on behaviors and expression levels of 5-HT1AR and 5-HT2AR in the hippocampus of insomnia rats due to liver Qi stagnation / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

Objective:To observe the effects of liver-soothing spirit-regulating acupuncture on the behaviors and expression levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 1A(5-HT1AR)and 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 2A(5-HT2AR)in the hippocampus of insomnia rats due to liver Qi stagnation. Methods:Ten of the 70 Wistar rats were randomly selected as the blank group,and the remaining rats were subjected to preparing the insomnia model due to liver Qi stagnation by the chronic tail clamping stimulation combined with intraperitoneal injection of para-chlorophenyl alanine.Fifty successful model rats were randomly divided into a model group,a grasp group,a Western medicine group,an acupuncture group,and a sham acupuncture group,with 10 rats in each group.Rats in the grasp group were grabbed in the same way as those in the acupuncture group.Rats in the Western medicine group were given estazolam solution by intragastric administration.Rats in the acupuncture group received liver-soothing spirit-regulating acupuncture at Baihui(GV20),Neiguan(PC6),Shenmen(HT7),and Taichong(LR3);rats in the sham acupuncture group received acupuncture at 4 non-meridian non-point spots.All groups were treated once a day for 7 d.Pentobarbital sleep test was used to evaluate the sleep latency(SL)and sleep time(ST)of rats in each group after 7 d of intervention;the proportion of the number of entry into the open arms(OE％)and the proportion of the residence time in the open arms(OT％)were monitored by elevated plus maze test(EPMT);the open field test(OFT)was used to monitor the numbers of standing upright,horizontal cross-grid,and fecal grains in rats.The expression levels of 5-HT1AR and 5-HT2AR in rat hippocampus were detected by Western blotting. Results:The body mass gain,ST,OE％,OT％,upright standing times,horizontal cross-grid times,and the 5-HT1AR expression level in the hippocampus were significantly decreased(P<0.01),while the SL and 5-HT2AR expression level in the hippocampus were significantly increased(P<0.01)in the model group compared with the blank group.After intervention,the body mass,ST,OT％,OE％,upright standing times,horizontal cross-grid times,and hippocampal 5-HT1AR expression level were significantly increased(P<0.01 or P<0.05),while the SL and hippocampal 5-HT2AR expression level were significantly decreased(P<0.01 or P<0.05)in the acupuncture group and the Western medicine group compared with the grasp group.Compared with the Western medicine group,OT％,SL,and hippocampal 5-HT1AR expression level were significantly increased in the acupuncture group(P<0.05).The body mass,OT％,OE％,ST,upright standing times,horizontal cross-grid times,and the 5-HT1AR expression level in the hippocampus were significantly increased(P<0.01),while the SL and 5-HT2AR expression level in the hippocampus were significantly decreased(P<0.01)in the acupuncture group compared with the sham acupuncture group. Conclusion:Liver-soothing spirit-regulating acupuncture can not only improve sleep but also improve the abnormal behaviors and mood of insomnia rats due to liver Qi stagnation,and the improvement effect on abnormal mood is better than that of Western medicine.The mechanism may be related to the regulation of 5-HT1AR and 5-HT2AR

Acupuncture intervening depressive disorder:research progress in its neurobiological mechanism / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

Depressive disorder seriously affects people's physical and mental health.Acupuncture is a safe and effective treatment for depression,yet,its mechanism is unclear.Therefore,acupuncture's action mechanism in intervening depression was summarized from several perspectives,including morphology and ultrastructure of neurons in depression-related brain areas,function and structure of glial cells,brain functional and structural connectivity,and neuroelectrophysiology.It's discovered that acupuncture can repair the morphological and ultrastructural damage of neurons in the hippocampus and prefrontal lobe,mitigate the functional and structural injuries of glial cells in the hippocampus and prefrontal lobe,strengthen functional connectivity and heal structural connection,and promote neuroelectrophysiological activities,which possibly are the principal mechanisms of how acupuncture works in intervening depressive disorder.

Effects of Acupuncture on Functional Connectivity Changes of What Visual Pathway in the Brain in Children with Monocular Refractive Amblyopia / 中医杂志

ObjectiveTo explore the efficacy of acupuncture intervention for children with monocular refractive-parallax amblyopia and the possible mechanisms of brain function based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance （rs-fMRI）. MethodsSeventy-six children with anisometropic amblyopia were randomly divided into routine treatment group （38 cases） and acupuncture treatment group （38 cases）. In the conventional group， the children were given three regular treatments of red flash， grating and visual stimulation for 5 mins each time； in the acupuncture group， on the basis of the conventional treatment， the children were given acupuncture for 20 mins each time on bilateral Jingming （BL 1）， Cuanzhu （BL 2）， Guangming （GB 37） and Fengchi （GB 20）； the children in both groups were treated once every other day and three times a week for 4 weeks. The corrected visual acuity was compared between groups before and after treatment. Fifteen children with left-sided refractive amblyopia were randomly selected from each of the above two groups and underwent brain rs-fMRI scans before and after treatment， and 10 healthy children with normal visual acuity of the matched gender and age were included in the normal group and underwent brain rs-fMRI scans. Based on the activation likelihood estimation （ALE） method， we constructed the what visual pathway network， and compared and analyzed the spherical regions of interest （ROIs） of the children with normal children， and both groups of children with differences in functional connectivity （FC values） within the what pathway in the brain before and after treatment. ResultsTwo cases dropout in the acupuncture group， and finally 36 cases in the acupuncture group and 38 cases in the conventional group were included in the analysis. Compared with before treatment， the best corrected visual acuity of amblyopia in both groups was significantly improved after treatment （P＜0.05）， and the improvement of vision in the acupuncture group was significantly better than that in the conventional group （P＜0.05）. The results of rs-fMRI showed that the FC values of the primary optic cortex and the right fusiform gyrus， the left lingual gyrus and the right fusiform gyrus， and the right infraoccipital gyrus and the right middle temporal gyrus were significantly elevated in the brain of the refractive amblyopia children with the whitepathic amblyopia， compared with that of the normal children （P＜0.05）. The FC values of the left lingual gyrus， the right suboccipital gyrus with the right fusiform gyrus， the left lingual gyrus with the right middle temporal gyrus， the right and left lateral middle occipital gyrus， and the right and left lateral middle occipital gyrus with the right suboccipital gyrus were significantly （P＜0.05） lower in the conventional group compared with those in the conventional group before treatment. Compared with that before acupuncture treatment， the FC values of the right lingual gyrus and the right fusiform gyrus， the primary visual cortex and the right middle temporal gyrus increased significantly after acupuncture treatment （P＜0.05）， and the FC values of the left inferior occipital gyrus and the right middle temporal gyrus， the FC values of the left lingual gyrus and the right middle occipital gyrus decreased significantly （P＜0.05）. Compared between groups after treatment， the FC between the left suboccipital gyrus and the right fusiform gyrus in the acupuncture group was significantly higher than that in the conventional group （P＜0.05）， and the FC between the left middle occipital gyrus and the right and left suboccipital gyrus was significantly lower than that in the conventional group （P＜0.05）. ConclusionAcupuncture can significantly improve the corrected vision of anisometropic amblyopic children， and its effect mechanism may focus on regulating the occipito-temporal interlobular functional connectivity within the what pathway， thus improving the children's visual function of shape and color vision and visual learning and memory ability.

Screening, identification and functional analysis of differential expression genes in rat visual cortex after monocular deprivation by RNA-Seq technique / 中华实验眼科杂志

Objective:To screen differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in rat visual cortex after monocular deprivation by RNA sequencing technology, and to analyze the function of the DEGs.Methods:Eighteen 14-day-old SD rats were randomly divided into blank control group and monocular deprivation model group according to random number table method, with 9 rats in each group.The monocular deprivation model was established through lid suture of the right eye for 14 days.Patten visual evoked potential (PVEP) in the right eyes of the rats was recorded before and 14 days after modeling, respectively.Bilateral visual cortex tissues of the rats were dissected from the two groups, and specific genes associated with the pathogenesis of amblyopia were screened out for RNA-seq analysis.The biological functions of differentially expressed genes were evaluated by Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis, and metabolic pathways involved were analyzed by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis.The use and care of the animals complied with ARVO statement.This study protocol was approved by an Ethics Committee of Gansu University of Chinese Medicine (No.2016-58).Results:Compared with blank control group, the latency of P 100 wave was significantly prolonged, and the amplitude was reduced in the eyes of monocular deprivation model group (both at P<0.05). Forty DEGs in the left visual cortex and 63 DEGs in the right visual cortex were determined, among which 9 genes were overlapped.GO analysis indicated that the DEGs were mainly involved in biological processes, such as DNA-templated transcription, glutamate secretion, transcriptional regulation of RNA polymerase Ⅱ promoter, protein phosphorylation etc., as well as molecular functions, such as DNA binding, ATP binding, protein serine/threonine kinase activity, calcium ion binding, zinc ion binding, phospholipase A 2 activity, nucleic acid binding and cell components involved in the formation of intracellular and membrane of endoplasmic reticulum.The abnormal expressions of Grm2 and Pla2g2a genes might be closely associated with visual function impairment. Grm2 gene was mainly involved in visual signaling pathway processes including glutamate synapse, long-term potentiation (LTP), long-term depression (LTD) etc. Pla2g2a gene was mainly involved in α-linolenic acid metabolism and arachidonic acid pathway. Conclusions:There are abnormal expressions of genes in the bilateral visual cortices of monocular deprivation rats in the sensitive period of visual development, mainly leading to the disorder of visual signal transduction pathway.Metabolic pathway changes based on specific response gene regulation may be one of the important molecular biological mechanisms in the pathogenesis of amblyopia.

Regulatory effect of acupuncture on electrical activity level of optic cortex in amblyopia model rats / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

Objective: To explore the abnormal changes in neuroelectric activity in the primary visual cortex of rats deprived of vision in one eye and to investigate the regulatory effect of acupuncture in the sensitive period on the abnormal coding and conduction of electrical signals of rats' optic neurons.Methods: Sixty 14-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a blank group, a model group, an early-stage acupuncture group, a middle-stage acupuncture group, and a late-stage acupuncture group, with 12 rats in each group. Rats in every group except the blank group received right eyelid suturing to create a monocular deprivation model in the sensitive period of visual development (from the day rats open their eyes to the 45th day after their birth). Rats in the three acupuncture groups started to undergo acupuncture respectively on the 3rd, 12th, and 21st days after the model replication was done, with each group receiving nine-day treatment. The activity level of the neuroelectrical signal of the primary visual cortex in each group, including the latency and amplitude of P100 wave, average discharge frequency and amplitude of neurons, the power spectral density (PSD), and interspike interval (ISI), were measured by neuroelectric evaluation technology after the acupuncture treatment was finished. Results: Compared with the blank group, the latency of P100 wave in the visual center of vision-deprived eyes was significantly prolonged, and the amplitude was significantly reduced (P<0.05); the average discharge frequency and amplitude of the neurons in the visual cortex also decreased significantly (P<0.05); PSD decreased and ISI was prolonged significantly (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the abnormal electrical activity of optic neurons in the three acupuncture groups ameliorated, the latency of P100 shortened, and the amplitude of P100 increased (P<0.05), the discharge frequency and amplitude increased significantly (P<0.05), the PSD reduced, and the ISI shortened (P<0.05). In addition, among the three acupuncture groups, the early-stage acupuncture group had the best effect on various indicators. Conclusion: Abnormal electrophysiological activity is significant in the visual center of vision-deprived rats, and acupuncture treatment in the sensitive period of visual development can enhance the bioelectrical activity of visual nerve cells, improve the efficiency of optic nerve conduction, and regulate the inhibition and retardation of visual response caused by visual deprivation.

Progress in the mechanism of acupuncture intervention on pain emotion and pain cognition mediated by limbic system / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

Pain is a complex physiological and psychological activity, involving at least three dimensions, including pain sensation, pain emotion, and pain cognition. Acupuncture can clearly relieve the pain sensation of patients and improve pain emotion and pain cognition induced by pain; acupuncture participates in the multi-dimensional regulation of pain through brain regions of the limbic system such as anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), amygdala (AMY), and hippocampus. By analyzing relevant literature, it has been found that the regulation of acupuncture on pain emotion is mainly related to the activation of pertinent opioid receptors in the ACC, the decrease of the expression of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and the promotion of the expression of glutamic acid (Glu) A1, metabotropic glutamate receptor-1 (mGluR1), and γ-aminobutyric acid aminobutyric acid (GABA) B2 protein in the AMY. The regulation of acupuncture on pain cognition is mainly related to the elevation of the expression of protein kinase A (PKA) and phospho-p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (phospho-p38 MAPK) and the inhibition of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)/PKA/cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) signaling pathway in the ACC.

Intervention of acupuncture on abnormal spatiotemporal pattern of visual cortex area 17 neuron in monocular deprivation amblyopia rats / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To preliminarily explore the electrophysiological mechanism of acupuncture on plasticity variability of visual cortex.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Fifty 14-day-old Wistar rats were randomly divided into a blank group, a model group, an early-stage acupuncture group, a middle-stage acupuncture group and a late-stage acupuncture group, 10 rats in each one. Except the blank group, the rats in the remaining groups were treated with eyelid suture to establish the model of monocular deprivation amblyopia. After model establishment, the rats in the blank group and model group were grasped without any intervention everyday. The rats in the acupuncture groups were treated with acupuncture at bilateral "Jingming" (BL 1), "Cuanzhu" (BL 2), "Fengchi" (GB 20) and "Guangming" (GB 37) on the 3rd, 12th and 21st days into model establishment. The needles were retained for 10 min, once a day for totally 9 days. After treatment, the M-NEMEA technology was applied to measure the discharge amplitude and power spectral density of visual cortex area 17 neuron of each group.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the blank group, the number of discharged neuron of visual cortex area 17 was reduced, and the amplitude was significantly reduced in the model group (both<0.05). Compared with the model group, the numbers of discharged neuron were increased, and the amplitudes were significantly increased in the early-stage acupuncture group and middle-stage acupuncture group (all<0.05). The neuron discharge amplitude in the early-stage acupuncture group was higher than those in the middle-stage acupuncture group and late-stage acupuncture group (both<0.05); the neuron discharge amplitude in the middle-stage acupuncture group was higher than that in the late-stage acupuncture group (<0.05). In the 120-second time domain of acquisition, the distribution of power spectral density in the blank group was mainly between -105 dB and -100 dB; compared with the blank group, the power spectral density in the model group was increased and distributed between -132 dB and -124 dB; compared with the model group, the power spectral densities in the acupuncture groups was reduced and distributed between -115 dB and -110 dB in the early-stage acupuncture group, -120 dB and -115 dB in the middle-stage acupuncture group and -129 dB and -122 dB in the late-stage acupuncture group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>There are abnormal changes of spatiotemporal pattern in visual cortex area 17 of monocular deprivation rats, but acupuncture can regulate abnormal spatiotemporal pattern of neuron. Therefore, there is developmental plasticity of visual cortex neuron in the sensitive period, and early treatment is key to superior efficacy.</p>

Research Overview of Mechanism of Acupuncture Intervention on Vision / 中国中医药信息杂志

Through analyzing the research literature about the mechanism of acupuncture intervention on vision in recent years, this article reviewed the mechanism of acupuncture intervention on vision from the aspects of central processing of visual information, the influnce of information transmission in the retina, the changes in visual microcirculation, optic nerve and neurotransmitter transmission, visual electrophysiology, visual plasticity. This article also proposed the future research idea for this field.

Regulation of acupuncture on NMDAR1 mRNA expression in visual cortex of monocularly-deprived rats / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

Objective: To explore the molecular biological mechanism of acupuncture in intervening visual deprivation. Methods: Forty-eight 2-week old Wistar rats were randomly divided into a normal group, a model group, and 6 acupuncture groups (group C1: acupuncture at the unaffected side in early stage; group C2: acupuncture at the affected side in early stage; group D1: acupuncture at the unaffected side in mid-stage; group D2: acupuncture at the affected side in mid-stage; group E1: acupuncture at the unaffected side in late stage; group E2: acupuncture at the affected side in late stage) by the random number table, 6 rats in each group. Rats in the normal group didn’t receive any interventions. The rat model of deprivation amblyopia was established by unilateral eyelid suture in the model group and each acupuncture group. After successful modeling, rats in model group didn’t receive any treatments; rats in the acupuncture groups received acupuncture intervention which began respectively on the 3rd, 12th and 21st day after modeling. Pattern visual evoked potential (P-VEP) and N-methy D-aspartatreceptor-1 (NMDAR1) mRNA expression in visual cortex area 17 were detected at the end of acupuncture intervention in each group. Results: After the intervention, the P-VEP waveform was significantly changed, with a significantly delayed P100 value (P0.05). Conclusion: P-VEP waveform is abnormal and NMDAR1 mRNA expression in visual cortex area 17 is decreased in rats with monocularly-deprived amblyopia. Acupuncture in the sensitive period can significantly regulate the abnormal P-VEP waveform and the down-regulate the NMDAR1 mRNA expression of the visual cortex of rats with monocularly-deprived amblyopia. Early treatment in the sensitive period should be the key to obtaining the curative effect.

Theoretic analysis of Professor Shao Jing-ming's 'Three-acupoint and Five-needle Method' for asthma / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

'Three-acupoint and Five-needle Method' is a summary of Prof. Shao Jing-ming's clinical experience in the treatment of asthma for years. It is used to alleviate asthma during seizure and to improve the pulmonary functions, strengthen the body constitution and prevent recurrence in the remission stage. This article introduces the theoretic source and basic principle, and concrete operating method, i.e. puncturing bilateral Feishu (BL 13), Dazhui (GV 14) and bilateral Fengmen (BL 12), and adding acupoints based upon pattern identification, in combination of moxibustion and cupping therapy for promoting the clinical application of this method.

Role of fNIRS technology in observing the effect of needling Hegu (LI 4) on the functions of prefrontal cortex in healthy volunteers / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

Objective: To observe the effect of needling Hegu (LI 4) on functions of the prefrontal cortex using the functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Methods: A total of 12 healthy volunteers were randomly assigned to an acupuncture group (n=6) and a control group (n=6). The control group received no intervention. The acupuncture group received needling Hegu (LI 4) on the right side. The real-time concentration changes of oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO2), deoxygenated hemoglobin (d-Hb) and total hemoglobin (t-Hb) in the prefrontal cortex were recorded using the fNIRS, allowing for effect analysis of needling Hegu (LI 4) on the functions of the prefrontal cortex. Results: Compared with the control group, the HbO2 and t-Hb concentrations were increased in the acupuncture group and there were between-group statistical significances (bothP0.05). Conclusion: Needling Hegu (LI 4) can extensively activate the prefrontal cortex and therefore has significant effect on the functions of the brain's prefrontal cortex.

Meta-analysis of clinical effectiveness on Chinese herbs combined with moderate comprehensive therapy for childhood amblyopia / 中华实验眼科杂志

Background The conventional therapies for childhood amblyopia mainly include optometry,occluding therapy,atropine application,fine eyesight training,instrument or regular comprehensive therapy,but the clinical effectiveness of each method had its limitation.Chinese herbs have been used to the treatment of childhood amblyopia,however,their effects are still in controversy.Objective This study was to assess the evidence of efficacy of Chinese herbs combined with moderate methods for childhood amblyopia.Methods The published papers of randomized controlled trials (RCT) and controlled clinical trials (CCT) of Chinese herbs combined with moderate comprehensive therapy for childhood amblyopia from 2000 to 2015 were searched in China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI),Wanfang database and PubMed database with computer.The methodology quality of included papers was evaluated according to the criteria of Cochrane and advanced Jadad scale.Data synthesis was facilitated using Reviewer Manager 5.1 software.The overall effect,or odds ratio (OR) of the treatment was analyzed by fixed effective model.Results Thirty-three RCT or CCT papers meeting inclusion criteria were included with the total sample size 6 666,and matched demography was showed in 25 papers;referential diagnosis criteria and effective criteria were described in 29 papers and 30 papers,respectively.Advanced Jadad scale showed 6,3 and 1-2 scores in 1,2 and 30 papers,respectively.The evidence showed that the total effectiveness of treatment within the group receiving Chinese herbs combined with conventional methods was higher than that in conventional group,with a statistically significant difference between groups (polled fixed effects model [OR] =3.92,95％ confidence interval [CI]:3.30-4.64,Z=15.74,P＜0.01).Conclusions The total effectiveness rate of Chinese herbs combined with conventional methods for childhood amblyopia is superior to only conventional treatment,indicating that Chinese herbs is effective for childhood amblyopia.More well-designed RCTs are needed to confirm the effect.

Research Progress in Mechanism of Moxibustion in Regulation of Immune Function in Rheumatoid Arthritis / 中国中医药信息杂志

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease. Moxibustion treatment for RA has significant efficacy, with high security and without dependency. It can alleviate the symptoms and make the body gradually return to normal level of immunity at the same time. This article reviewed the study on mechanism of moxibustion for the treatment of RA in recent years from the aspects of innate immunity, humeral immunity, cellular immunity, cytokines and immune organs, discussed the existing problems in relevant study, and provided a basis for clinic and future research.

Study on intervention mechanism of acupuncture for neuron abnormal neural coding in visual cortex area 17 of monocular deprivation rats / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

Objective: To investigate the electrophysiological mechanism of acupuncture for the visual cortex plasticity during the sensitive period. Methods: Fifty 2-week-old Wistar rats were randomly divided into a blank control group, a model group, an early-stage acupuncture group, a middle-stage acupuncture group and a late-stage acupuncture group, 10 rats in each group. Monocular deprivation amblyopia models were prepared in rats except those in the blank control group by unilateral eyelid suture. After successful modeling, no treatment was applied to the rats in the model group. Rats in each acupuncture group were treated with acupuncture at bilateral Jingming (BL 1), Cuanzhu (BL 2), Fengchi (GB 20) and Guangming (GB 37), started from the 3rd day, 12th day or 21st day after modeling separately, once a day, for a total of 9 d treatment. The neuronal discharge frequency and action potential inter-spike interval (ISI) in the rat visual cortex area 17 of each group were measured by multi-channel microelectrode array nerve signal technique. Results: The discharge number of neurons in the visual cortex of the model group was significantly lower than that in the blank control group (P0.05). The discharge number in the middle-stage acupuncture group was lower than that in the early-stage acupuncture group (P<0.05), and the discharge number of the late-stage acupuncture group was lower than that in the middle-stage acupuncture group (P<0.05). The ISI sequences of the visual cortex neurons were mainly distributed under 0.3 s in the blank control group, under 15 s in the model group, under 1 s in the early-stage acupuncture group, under 4 s in the middle-stage acupuncture group, and under 10 s in the late-stage acupuncture group, divergent in each group. Conclusion: The neuronal coding appears abnormality in the visual cortex area 17 of monocular deprivation rats, indicating that there is a plasticity change in the visual cortex neurons during the sensitive period. Acupuncture has a significant effect on the abnormal neural coding. The therapeutic efficacy is closely related to the stage to start the treatment. Early stage treatment in the sensitive period is the key to achieving the good efficacy.

Exploration of acupoints selection law for post-traumatic stress disorder treated with acupuncture and moxibustion / 中国针灸

To analyze the modern clinical literature on post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD) treated with acupuncture and moxibustion so as to summarize the acupoints selection law. The related articles from 2005 to 2014 were collected and then the frequencies were statistically analyzed. Finally 16 papers were gathered,while the main acupoints among the 23 acupoints refer to Baihui(GV 20),Sishencong(EX-HN 1),Shenting(GV 24),Fengchi(GB 20),Shenmen(HT 7),Neiguan(PC 6),Taichong(LR 3) and Sanyinjiao(SP 6). It is concluded that the law means taking smoothing liver and governor vessel to regulate the spirit as priority,and assisted by nourishing kidney and supportingto peace the spirit,as well as strengthening spleen and helpingto smooth meridians.

Point application in literature ofstone chamber and its application / 中国针灸

Acupuncture-moxibustion material found instone chamber shows academic value on research of acupuncture-moxibustion in Tang Dynasty and before. In the paper we summarize its medical prescriptions and the existing acupoint application contents. It is considered that its acupoint application is widely clinically used in dermatological department, cosmetology department, ophthalmology and otorhinolaryngology departments, paediatrics department, gynaecology department, anorectal department, orthopedics and traumatology department. It achieves remarkable effects in dermatological department, orthopedics and traumatology department. Medical literature ofis a treasure of TCM with distinctive feature and it deserves to be further explored so as to serve the clinic and promote the inheritance and development ofmedicine, such as finding out high effect prescription.

Research progress of the central mechanism of acupuncture-moxibustion for simple obesity / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

Obesity often results when regular caloric intake exceeds the energy expenditure. Hypothalamus is the center that regulates feeding and energy balance inside the body, especially the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) and ventromedial nucleus (VMN). Acupuncture-moxibustion has achieved significant progress in treating simple obesity, and the relevant studies have revealed the central action mechanism underlying the treatment. By reviewing the literatures associated with the mechanism studies on acupuncture-moxibustion for simple obesity, this article is going to provide clinical and scientific guidance for the treatment of simple obesity with acupuncture-moxibustion.

Summary of the theoretical foundation and clinical application of Prof. Zheng Kui-shan’s ‘warming-dredging needling technique’ / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

‘Warming-dredging needling technique’ is one of the specific needling techniques created by Prof. Zheng Kui-shan for treating intractable and difficult diseases. Developed from ‘Shao Shan Huo (Mountain-burning Fire)’ and ‘warming- reinforcing method’, this method displays the effects of ‘warming’, ‘dredging’ and ‘reinforcing’. The ‘scapula-penetrating heat’ and ‘eye-transmitting heat’ belong to the representative needling techniques of ‘warming-dredging needling technique’. In order to promote the clinical application of ‘warming-dredging needling technique’, its theoretical foundation and clinical experience are summarized.