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Review
. 2024 Oct 25;49(10):1092-1099.
doi: 10.13702/j.1000-0607.20230349.

[Research progress of acupuncture in improving pain emotion by regulating functions of anterior cingulate cortex]

[Article in Chinese]
Li Li  1 , Cui Ma  1 , Yu-Ting Wei  1 , Xing-Ke Yan  2
Affiliations
Free article
Review

[Research progress of acupuncture in improving pain emotion by regulating functions of anterior cingulate cortex]

[Article in Chinese]
Li Li et al. Zhen Ci Yan Jiu. .
Free article

Abstract
in English, Chinese

Pain emotion is a negative emotion caused by pain, which seriously affects the patients' physical and psychological health. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is a key brain region in the occurrence and regulation of pain and painful emotion. In this paper, we summed up the relevant progress of researches on acupuncture improvement of pain emotion from neurotransmitters and receptors, cellular signaling pathways and neural circuits of ACC, in order to provide a basis for further research. 1) Acupuncture can regulate the long-term potentiation of ACC synaptic transmission by down-regulating the expression of N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor (NMDAR)； and up-regulating the expression of μ-, delta- and κ-opioid receptors, neuropeptide S (NPS)/ NPS receptor, and the number of parvalbumin-expressing interneurons to reduce neuronal excitability, relieving pain emotion； 2) Acupuncture can regulate synaptic transmission of ACC neurons by inhibiting protein kinase Mζ (PKMζ)-GluR1 and cAMP/PKA-ERK-CREB signaling pathways, and modulate synaptic plasticity to ameliorate pain emotion； 3) Acupuncture intervention induced inhibition of rostral ACCGlu-thalamic circuit may result in relief of pain emotion but not pain sensation, whereas inhibition of the rostral ACCGlu-ventrolateral periaqueductal gray matter(vlPAG) circuit may relieve pain sensation but not pain emotion. In addition, our team found that in the treatment of painful diseases by acupuncture, the addition of "spirit-regulating" acupoints can not only improve patients' negative emotion, but also significantly relive patients' pain sensation.

痛情绪是因疼痛引发的负性情绪，严重影响患者的身心健康。大脑前扣带皮层（ACC）是疼痛及痛情绪发生与调控的关键脑区，ACC内相关神经递质及受体、信号通路和神经环路均参与痛情绪的调控。针刺能有效改善痛厌恶情绪，减轻疼痛相关的焦虑、恐惧等负性情绪，其机制与针刺调节ACC功能密切相关，通过下调ACC内N-甲基-D-天冬氨酸受体（NMDAR）和γ-氨基丁酸受体（GABAR），上调相关阿片受体和神经肽S/神经肽S受体的表达，激活ACC中小白蛋白（PV）中间神经元等发挥作用。此外，针刺还可抑制ACC脑区蛋白激酶Cζ-谷氨酸受体1和环磷酸腺苷/蛋白激酶A-细胞外调节蛋白激酶-cAMP反元件结合蛋白信号通路发挥调节和改善痛情绪的作用。针刺抑制rACCGlu-丘脑环路仅缓解痛情绪而不镇痛，抑制rACCGlu-腹外侧中脑导水管周围灰质环路仅镇痛而不缓解痛情绪。.

Keywords: Acupuncture; Anterior cingulate cortex; Pain emotion; Research progress.

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References

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