Study On The Effects Of Scalp Acupuncture On Motor Potentials Evoked By Transcranial Magnetic Stimulaton

Scalp acupuncture (SA) therapy is used widely in clinical practice because of its excellent effect in brain disorders. Researchers have studied the effects of SA on cerebrovascular, biochemistry and immunology and so on instead on motor system activity. And few report about the way through which SA play its role in treatments of brain disorders is available. SA cann't be studied with fMRI and PET because of its special acupuncturing zone. Motor evoked potential (MEP) elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is becoming an important non-invasive tool to study motor system and assessment motor function directly during the past 20 years. So we'll focus on the changes of TMS-MEP in abductor pollicis brebvis muscle (APB) before and after scalp acupuncturing in Anterior Oblique line of Vertex-Temporal (MS6) and Line 1 Lateral to Forehead (MS2) in 26 case of subjects.Results showed that both MS6 and MS2 decreased the rest motor threshold and increased the amplitude of MEP of APB notably, whilst the former is more effective than the later (P<0.05).That is SA can improve the total sum of excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs).Both MS6 and MS2 are in the area governed by the trigeminal nerve. The effects of them on MEP of APB should be the same, which is distinct different from the fact, since SA is thought work via the way the trigeminal nerve transporting the sensory pulse into brain. Documentary papers and clinical experience also testified that each SA zone is special for its function and indications. In addition the recently developed therapeutical use of TMS shares much with SA. So we reasonably conclude that SA work transcranially on cortex and /or subcortex .