Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Acupuncture-Neuroimaging Research Trends over Past Two Decades: A Bibliometric Analysis

  • Literature Research
  • Published:
Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

To identify topics attracting growing research attention as well as frontier trends of acupuncture-neuroimaging research over the past two decades.

Methods

This paper reviewed data in the published literature on acupuncture neuroimaging from 2000 to 2020, which was retrieved from the Web of Science database. CiteSpace was used to analyze the publication years, countries, institutions, authors, keywords, co-citation of authors, journals, and references.

Results

A total of 981 publications were included in the final review. The number of publications has increased in the recent 20 years accompanied by some fluctuations. Notably, the most productive country was China, while Harvard University ranked first among institutions in this field. The most productive author was Tian J with the highest number of articles (50), whereas the most co-cited author was Hui KKS (325). Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (92) was the most prolific journal, while Neuroimage was the most co-cited journal (538). An article written by Hui KKS (2005) exhibited the highest co-citation number (112). The keywords “acupuncture” (475) and “electroacupuncture” (0.10) had the highest frequency and centrality, respectively. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) ranked first with the highest citation burst (6.76).

Conclusion

The most active research topics in the field of acupuncture-neuroimaging over the past two decades included research type, acupoint specificity, neuroimaging methods, brain regions, acupuncture modality, acupoint specificity, diseases and symptoms treated, and research type. Whilst research frontier topics were “nerve regeneration”, “functional connectivity”, “neural regeneration”, “brain network”, “fMRI” and “manual acupuncture”.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Liu Z, Liu Y, Xu H, et al. Effect of electroacupuncture on urinary leakage among women with stress urinary incontinence: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA 2017;317:2493–2501.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Liu Z, Yan S, Wu J, et al. Acupuncture for chronic severe functional constipation: a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med 2016;165:761–769.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Han X, Jin H, Li K, et al. Acupuncture modulates disrupted whole-brain network after ischemic stroke: evidence based on graph theory analysis. Neural Plast 2020;2020:8838498.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Zhao L, Li D, Zheng H, et al. Acupuncture as adjunctive therapy for chronic stable angina: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Intern Med 2019;179:1388–1397.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Xu S, Yu L, Luo X, et al. Manual acupuncture versus sham acupuncture and usual care for prophylaxis of episodic migraine without aura: multicentre, randomised clinical trial. BMJ 2020;368:m697.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Xue CC, Zhang AL, Zhang CS, et al. Acupuncture for seasonal allergic rhinitis: a randomized controlled trial. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2015;115:317–324.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Wang Z, Wang X, Liu J, et al. Acupuncture treatment modulates the corticostriatal reward circuitry in major depressive disorder. J Psychiatr Res 2017;84:18–26.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Tu Y, Zeng F, Lan L, et al. An fMRI-based neural marker for migraine without aura. Neurology 2020;94:e741–e751.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Zhao Z Q, Jia S W, Hu S, et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of electro-acupuncture as a treatment for childhood autism using single photon emission computed tomography. Chin J Integr Med 2014;20:19–23.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Xu A, Tang Y, Zeng Q, et al. Electroacupuncture enhances cognition by promoting brain glucose metabolism and inhibiting inflammation in the APP/PS1 mouse model of alzheimer’s disease: a pilot study. J Alzheimers Dis 2020;77:387–400.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Yu H, Li X, Lei X, et al. Modulation effect of acupuncture on functional brain networks and classification of its manipulation with eeg signals. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng 2019;27:1973–1984.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. You Y, Bai L, Dai R, et al. Acupuncture induces divergent alterations of functional connectivity within conventional frequency bands: evidence from MEG recordings. PLoS One 2012;7:e49250.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Gao Y, Shi S, Ma W, et al. Bibliometric analysis of global research on PD-1 and PD-L1 in the field of cancer. Int Immunopharmacol 2019;72:374–384.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Qin Y, Zhang Q, Liu Y. Analysis of knowledge bases and research focuses of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion from the perspective of mapping knowledge domain. Brain Res Bull 2020;156:15–24.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Chen CM, Ibekwe-SanJuan F, Hou JH. The structure and dynamics of co-citation clusters: a multiple-perspective co-citation analysis. J Am Soc Inf Ence Technol 2014;7:1386–1409.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Pei W, Peng R, Gu Y, et al. Research trends of acupuncture therapy on insomnia in two decades (from 1999 to 2018): a bibliometric analysis. BMC Complement Altern Med 2019;19:225.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Li R, Sun J, Hu H, et al. Research trends of acupuncture therapy on knee osteoarthritis from 2010 to 2019: a bibliometric analysis. J Pain Res 2020;13:1901–1913.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Liang YD, Li Y, Zhao J, et al. Study of acupuncture for low back pain in recent 20 years: a bibliometric analysis via CiteSpace. J Pain Res 2017;10:951–964.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Lee IS, Lee H, Chen YH, et al. Bibliometric analysis of research assessing the use of acupuncture for pain treatment over the past 20 years. J Pain Res 2020;13:367–376.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Qiu K, Jing M, Sun R, et al. The status of the quality control in acupuncture-neuroimaging studies. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2016;2016:3685785.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Ma PH, Yin T, Hou J, et al. Analysis of the research status of acupuncture neuroimaging based on literature measurement. Chin Imag J Integr Tradit West Med (Chin) 2018;16:215–217.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Chen CM. CiteSpace II: detecting and visualizing emerging trends and transient patterns in scientific literature. J Am Soc Inf Sci Technol 2006;57:359–377.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Zhang Y, Li C, Ji X, et al. The knowledge domain and emerging trends in phytoremediation: a scientometric analysis with CiteSpace. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2020;27:15515–15536.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Hui KK, Liu J, Makris N, et al. Acupuncture modulates the limbic system and subcortical gray structures of the human brain: evidence from fMRI studies in normal subjects. Hum Brain Mapp 2000;9:13–25.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  25. Chou R, Qaseem A, Snow V, et al. Diagnosis and treatment of low back pain: a joint clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society. Ann Intern Med 2007;147:478–491.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Qiu WQ, Claunch J, Kong J, et al. The effects of acupuncture on the brain networks for emotion and cognition: an observation of gender differences. Brain Res 2010;1362:56–67.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  27. Kong J, Wang Z, Leiser J, et al. Enhancing treatment of osteoarthritis knee pain by boosting expectancy: a functional neuroimaging study. Neuroimage Clin 2018;18:325–334.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. Tu Y, Ortiz A, Gollub RL, et al. Multivariate resting-state functional connectivity predicts responses to real and sham acupuncture treatment in chronic low back pain. Neuroimage Clin 2019;23:101885.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  29. Yu S, Li W, Shen W, Edwards RR, et al. Impaired mesocorticolimbic connectivity underlies increased pain sensitivity in chronic low back pain. Neuroimage 2020;218:116969.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Fang J, Jin Z, Wang Y, et al. The salient characteristics of the central effects of acupuncture needling: limbic-paralimbic-neocortical network modulation. Hum Brain Mapp 2009;30:1196–1206.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Claunch JD, Chan ST, Nixon EE, et al. Commonality and specificity of acupuncture action at three acupoints as evidenced by fMRI. Am J Chin Med 2012;40:695–712.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  32. Bai L, Qin W, Tian J, et al. Acupuncture modulates spontaneous activities in the anticorrelated resting brain networks. Brain Res 2009;1279:37–49.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Niu X, Zhang M, Liu Z, et al. Interaction of acupuncture treatment and manipulation laterality modulated by the default mode network. Mol Pain 2017;13:2072479836.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Bai L, Niu X, Liu Z, et al. The role of insula-cerebellum connection underlying aversive regulation with acupuncture. Mol Pain 2018;14:2070380063.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Zeng F, Qin W, Ma T, et al. Influence of acupuncture treatment on cerebral activity in functional dyspepsia patients and its relationship with efficacy. Am J Gastroenterol 2012;107:1236–1247.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Liu P, Fan Y, Wei Y, et al. Altered structural and functional connectivity of the insula in functional dyspepsia. Neurogastroenterol Motil 2018;30:e13345.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Liu P, Wang G, Zeng F, et al. Abnormal brain structure implicated in patients with functional dyspepsia. Brain Imaging Behav 2018;12:459–466.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Hui KK, Liu J, Marina O, et al. The integrated response of the human cerebro-cerebellar and limbic systems to acupuncture stimulation at ST 36 as evidenced by fMRI. Neuroimage 2005;27:479–496.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Dhond RP, Yeh C, Park K, et al. Acupuncture modulates resting state connectivity in default and sensorimotor brain networks. Pain 2008;136:407–418.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  40. Napadow V, Kettner N, Liu J, et al. Hypothalamus and amygdala response to acupuncture stimuli in carpal tunnel syndrome. Pain 2007;130:254–266.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  41. Qiu K, Yin T, Hong X, et al. Does the acupoint specificity exist? evidence from functional neuroimaging studies. Curr Med Imag 2020;16:629–638.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Cao J, Tu Y, Wilson G, et al. Characterizing the analgesic effects of real and imagined acupuncture using functional and structure MRI. Neuroimage 2020;221:117176.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Huang W, Pach D, Napadow V, et al. Characterizing acupuncture stimuli using brain imaging with FMRI—a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature. PLoS One 2012;7:e32960.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  44. Yu S, Xie M, Liu S, et al. Resting-state functional connectivity patterns predict acupuncture treatment response in primary dysmenorrhea. Front Neurosci 2020;14:559191.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  45. Cai RL, Shen GM, Wang H, et al. Brain functional connectivity network studies of acupuncture: a systematic review on resting-state fMRI. J Integr Med 2018;16:26–33.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Townsend DW, Carney JP, Yap JT, et al. PET/CT today and tomorrow. J Nucl Med 2004;45 Suppl 1:4S–14S.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Zeng F, Liu XG, Tang Y, et al. Application of PET-CT technique to the research on central mechanism of acupuncture effects. Acupunct Res (Chin) 2008;33:284–286.

    Google Scholar 

  48. Huang Y, Tang C, Wang S, et al. Acupuncture regulates the glucose metabolism in cerebral functional regions in chronic stage ischemic stroke patients—a PET-CT cerebral functional imaging study. BMC Neurosci 2012;13:75.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  49. Fang Z, Ning J, Xiong C, et al. Effects of electroacupuncture at head points on the function of cerebral motor areas in stroke patients: a PET study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2012;2012:902413.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  50. Guo L, Wang Y, Yu H, et al. Study of brain functional network based on sample entropy of EEG under magnetic stimulation at PC6 acupoint. Biomed Mater Eng 2014;24:1063–1069.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Hori E, Takamoto K, Urakawa S, et al. Effects of acupuncture on the brain hemodynamics. Auton Neurosci 2010;157:74–80.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Davey CG, Harrison BJ, Yucel M, et al. Regionally specific alterations in functional connectivity of the anterior cingulate cortex in major depressive disorder. Psychol Med 2012;42:2071–2081.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Kennis M, Rademaker AR, van Rooij SJ, et al. Resting state functional connectivity of the anterior cingulate cortex in veterans with and without post-traumatic stress disorder. Hum Brain Mapp 2015;36:99–109.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Liu P, Liu Y, Wang G, et al. Changes of functional connectivity of the anterior cingulate cortex in women with primary dysmenorrhea. Brain Imag Behav 2018;12:710–717.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Jang SH, Kim DI, Choi MS. Effects and treatment methods of acupuncture and herbal medicine for premenstrual syndrome/premenstrual dysphoric disorder: systematic review. BMC Complement Altern Med 2014;14:11.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  56. Sepede G, Sarchione F, Matarazzo I, et al. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder without comorbid psychiatric conditions: a systematic review of therapeutic options. Clin Neuropharmacol 2016;39:241–261.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. Duan G, He Q, Pang Y, et al. Altered amygdala resting-state functional connectivity following acupuncture stimulation at BaiHui (GV20) in first-episode drug-naive major depressive disorder. Brain Imag Behav 2020;14:2269–2280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  58. Pang Y, Liao H, Duan G, et al. Regulated aberrant amygdala functional connectivity in premenstrual syndrome via electro-acupuncture stimulation at Sanyinjiao acupoint SP6. Gynecol Endocrinol 2021;37:315–319.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. Luo W, Zhang Y, Yan Z, et al. The instant effects of continuous transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation at acupoints on the functional connectivity of amygdala in migraine without aura: a preliminary study. Neural Plast 2020;2020:8870589.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  60. Yu S, Ortiz A, Gollub RL, et al. Acupuncture treatment modulates the connectivity of key regions of the descending pain modulation and reward systems in patients with chronic low back pain. J Clin Med 2020;9:1719.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  61. Robinson JL, Barron DS, Kirby LA, et al. Neurofunctional topography of the human hippocampus. Hum Brain Mapp 2015;36:5018–5037.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  62. Zheng W, Su Z, Liu X, et al. Modulation of functional activity and connectivity by acupuncture in patients with Alzheimer disease as measured by resting-state fMRI. PLoS One 2018;13:e196933.

    Google Scholar 

  63. Xu W, Ouyang S, Chi Z, et al. Effectiveness and safety of electroacupuncture in treating Parkinson disease: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analyses. Medicine 2021;100:e25095.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  64. Wen T, Zhang X, Liang S, et al. Electroacupuncture ameliorates cognitive impairment and spontaneous low-frequency brain activity in rats with ischemic stroke. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis 2018;27:2596–2605.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  65. Xie H, Xu F, Chen R, et al. Image formation of brain function in patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis treated with moxibustion. J Tradit Chin Med 2013;33:181–186.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  66. Bao C, Wang D, Liu P, et al. Effect of electro-acupuncture and moxibustion on brain connectivity in patients with Crohn’s disease: a resting-state fMRI study. Front Hum Neurosci 2017;11:559.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  67. Lee GI, Neumeister MW. Pain: pathways and physiology. Clin Plast Surg 2020;47:173–180.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  68. Zhao ZQ. Neural mechanism underlying acupuncture analgesia. Prog Neurobiol 2008;85:355–375.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  69. Yu SW, Lin SH, Tsai CC, et al. Acupuncture effect and mechanism for treating pain in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Front Neurol 2019;10:1114.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  70. Gao Z, Liu G, Zhang J, et al. The status of the quality control in neuroimaging studies of acupuncture analgesia. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2020;2020:8502530.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  71. Charles J A, Rapoport AM. The american headache society’s position statement on integrating new migraine treatments into clinical practice-comments. Headache 2019;59:629.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  72. Linde K, Streng A, Jurgens S, et al. Acupuncture for patients with migraine: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 2005;293:2118–2125.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  73. Urits I, Patel M, Putz M E, et al. Acupuncture and its role in the treatment of migraine headaches. Neurol Ther 2020;9:375–394.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  74. Zou Y, Tang W, Li X, et al. Acupuncture reversible effects on altered default mode network of chronic migraine accompanied with clinical symptom relief. Neural Plast 2019;2019:5047463.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  75. Samadian M, Gholipour M, Hajiesmaeili M, et al. The eminent role of micrornas in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. Front Aging Neurosci 2021;13:641080.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  76. Yu CC, Ma CY, Wang H, et al. Effects of acupuncture on alzheimer’s disease: evidence from neuroimaging studies. Chin J Integr Med 2019;25:631–640.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  77. Rau YA, Wang SM, Tournier JD, et al. A longitudinal fixelbased analysis of white matter alterations in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Neuroimage Clin 2019;24:102098.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  78. Ma ZZ, Lu YC, Wu JJ, et al. Acupuncture induces reduction in limbic-cortical feedback of a neuralgia rat model: a dynamic causal modeling study. Neural Plast 2020;2020:5052840.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  79. Wu J, Wang S, Lu Y, et al. Shifted hub regions in the brain network of rat neuropathic pain model after electroacupuncture therapy. J Integr Neurosci 2020;19:65–75.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  80. Shen Z, Zhu Y, Liu B, et al. Effects of electroacupuncture on pain memory-related behaviors and synchronous neural oscillations in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex in freely moving rats. Neural Plast 2019;2019:2057308.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  81. Sun R, Yang Y, Li Z, et al. Connectomics: a new direction in research to understand the mechanism of acupuncture. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2014;2014:568429.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  82. Yin T, Ma P, Tian Z, et al. Machine learning in neuroimaging: a new approach to understand acupuncture for neuroplasticity. Neural Plast 2020;2020:8871712.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  83. Ma K, Liu Y, Shao W, et al. Brain functional interaction of acupuncture effects in diarrhea-dominant irritable bowel syndrome. Front Neurosci 2020;14:608688.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  84. He T, Zhu W, Du SQ, et al. Neural mechanisms of acupuncture as revealed by fMRI studies. Auton Neurosci 2015;190:1–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to express their gratitude to Prof. Chen CM, who invented CiteSpace that is used for free.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

Writing, collection of literature: Zhao TT and Guo J; software, visualization: Liu YK and Wang YH; data curation, supervision: Song YF and Chen L; conceptualization: Chen H and Zhou JL; design, revision: Pei LX and Sun JH.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jian-hua Sun.

Ethics declarations

The authors declare that there are no potential conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this work.

Additional information

Supported by the Leading Talents of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Jiangsu (No. k2018j06)

Supplementary material to

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zhao, Tt., Pei, Lx., Guo, J. et al. Acupuncture-Neuroimaging Research Trends over Past Two Decades: A Bibliometric Analysis. Chin. J. Integr. Med. 29, 258–267 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-022-3672-y

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-022-3672-y

Keywords

Navigation