Trial reportBMC complementary medicine and therapies2024
Acupuncture modulates emotional network resting-state functional connectivity in patients with insomnia disorder: a randomized controlled trial and fMRI study.
Trial report in BMC complementary medicine and therapies, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Placebo Effect of Sham Acupuncture for Primary Insomnia: A Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials.Journal of sleep research · 2026Pooled it
- Mapping the research landscape of traditional Chinese medicine in insomnia management: a bibliometric study (2005-2024).Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Comparative effectiveness and safety of acupuncture treatments for primary insomnia: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized trial.Frontiers in neurologyPooled it
- Comparative Effects of Two Acupuncture Protocols in the Management of Chronic Insomnia: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Nature and science of sleep · 2025Trial
- Altered Cerebellar Spontaneous Activity and Its Association with Arousal Index in Comorbid Insomnia and Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Resting-State fMRI Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Acupuncture Modulates Neurotransmitter-Related Molecules in the Amygdala to Ameliorate Generalized Anxiety Disorder.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2026Article
- Illuminating Insomnia: A Scientometric Exploration of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Treatment Research.Journal of lifestyle medicine · 2026Review
- Acupotomy at spinal acupoints for primary insomnia: an exploration of therapeutic effectiveness.American journal of translational research · 2026Article
- Resting-State Functional Connectivity Alterations in Insomnia Disorder: A Systematic Review of Studies Published from 2020 to July 2025.Nature and science of sleep · 2026Review
- Acupuncture-related peripheral stimulation as a candidate neuromodulatory model of insomnia: clinical evidence, sleep-wake circuitry, and translational limits.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Skin-Brain Axis: neural pathways in acupuncture treatment.Chinese medicine · 2025Review
- Effectiveness and Safety of Acupuncture and Moxibustion in the Treatment of Insomnia: A Meta-Analysis Based on Randomized Controlled Trials.Iranian journal of public health · 2025Review
- Acupuncture for insomnia.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Article
- Rethinking Depression-Beyond Neurotransmitters: An Integrated Psychoneuroendocrineimmunology Framework for Depression's Pathophysiology and Tailored Treatment.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- A surface-based cross-sectional fMRI study on brain function differences between comorbid mild or moderate depression and insomnia.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Article
- Is Sham Acupuncture Equally Effective for Primary Insomnia? A Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis.Nature and science of sleep · 2025Review
- Brain activities responding to acupuncture at acupoint in healthy subjects: a study protocol based on task-based fMRI.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Article
- Localization of brain networks activated by acupuncture at anatomically adjacent acupoints in healthy participants: neuroimaging evidence and implications for migraine and stroke.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Article
- Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial: Evaluating the Impact of Acupuncture on Menstrual Regulation and Pregnancy Enhancement in Patients with DOR Using Rs-fMRI to Assess Brain Functional Networks.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2024Article
- The central regulatory effects of acupuncture in treating primary insomnia: a review.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundInsomnia disorder (ID) is one of the most common sleep problems, usually accompanied by anxiety and depression symptoms. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study suggests that both poor sleep quality and negative emotion are linked to the dysregulation of brain network related to emotion processing in ID patients. Acupuncture therapy has been proven effective in improving sleep quality and mood of ID patients, but the involved neurobiological mechanism remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the modulation effect of acupuncture on resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) of the emotional network (EN) in patients experiencing insomnia.
methodsA total of 30 healthy controls (HCs) and 60 ID patients were enrolled in this study. Sixty ID patients were randomly assigned to real and sham acupuncture groups and attended resting-state fMRI scans before and after 4 weeks of acupuncture treatment. HCs completed an MRI/fMRI scan at baseline. The rsFC values within EN were calculated, and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Hyperarousal Scale (HAS), and actigraphy data were collected for clinical efficacy evaluation.
resultsResting-state FC analysis showed abnormalities in rsFC centered on the thalamus and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex within EN of ID patients compared to HCs. After real acupuncture treatment, rsFC of the anterior cingulate cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala were increased compared with the sham acupuncture group (p < 0.05, FDR corrected). In real acupuncture group, the rsFC value was decreased between left amygdala and left thalamus after 4 weeks of treatment compared with baseline. A trend of correlation was found that the increased rsFC value between the right amygdala and left hippocampus was positively correlated with the decreased HAMA scores across all ID patients, and the decreased left amygdala rsFC value with the left thalamus was negatively correlated with the increased sleep efficiency in the real acupuncture group.
conclusionOur findings showed that real acupuncture could produce a positive effect on modulating rsFC within network related to emotion processing in ID patients, which may illustrate the central mechanism underlying acupuncture for insomnia in improving sleep quality and emotion regulation.
trial registrationhttp://www.chictr.org.cn ., ChiCTR1800015282, 20/03/2018.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.