Abstract #2320

Characterization of the Central Analgesic Effects of Two Different Acupuncture Modalities in a Mouse Model of Nociception

Isabel Wank^1,2, Jianliang Zhang^3,4, Shuping Chen⁴, Vanja Nagy^3,5, Liqun Zhang⁶, Silke Kreitz¹, Andreas Hess¹, and Josef Penninger³

¹Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Bayern - Erlangen, Germany, ²Department of Medicine 3 Rheumatology and Immunology, University Hospital Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany, ³Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria, ⁴Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China, ⁵Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria, ⁶Clinical Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

By using functional MRI, possible analgesic effects of two different acupuncture treatments (insertion of needles and electro-acupuncture) at Zusanli acupoint (ST36) were investigated. The brain’s response in anaesthetized C57Bl/6J mice to noxious stimuli with and without acupuncture was analyzed by characterization of the classical stimulus-driven BOLD parameters but also the influence on stimulus- as well as non-stimulus-driven functional connectivity-based brain networks. Acupuncture was shown to modulate (pseudo-resting state) brain networks by enhancing functional connectivity within limbic structures and decreasing thalamic connectivity particular with electro-acupuncture. Thereby acupuncture exerts control over the processing of noxious stimuli by higher-order brain regions.

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