WANG Shuya, LIU Kun, WANG Yuan, WANG Shuyou, HE Xun, CUI Xiang, GAO Xinyan, ZHU Bing 

(1 Institute of  Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China; 2 Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, xianyang，Shanxi Province, 712046, China)

Abstract：Objective: Scalp acupuncture is a somatic stimulation therapy that produces prominent clinical effects when used to treat cerebral diseases. However, this acupuncture’s therapeutic mechanisms have not yet been well-addressed. Scalp acupoints are innervated by the trigeminal nerve, which is coincident with the intracranial sensory afferents as well as with the meningeal vessels. In recent years, cerebrospinal fluid–contacting neurons have been found and proved to transmit allergic substances between brain the parenchyma and meninges, representing a possible network between scalp acupuncture and the brain. The aim of the current study was to observe the connections between scalp acupoints and the meninges and to  establish  a  possible  mechanism  for  scalp  acupuncture.  Materials  and  Methods:  Twenty-five  adult Sprague-Dawley rats were used for the present study. Evans Blue dye (Sigma Chemical Co, St. Louis, MO) was injected though each rat’s caudal vein after trigeminal stimulation for plasma extravasation observation. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) values of the rat’s brain surface were  measured at different timepoints before and after electroacupuncture (EA) on GB 15 (Toulinqi) or ST 36 (Zusanli). Results: These preliminary studies indicated that neurogenic plasma extravasation on a rat’s skin and dura mater after mechanical or electrical stimulation of the trigeminal nerves is a reliable way to show the pathologic connection between scalp acupoints and the meninges. Moreover, CBF of the rat’s brain surface is increased significantly after EA stimulation at GB 15 (Toulinqi), which is located in the receptive field of the supraorbital nerve.  Conclusions: These  findings  suggest  that  the  mechanism  of  scalp  acupuncture  might  lie  in  the  specific  neurologic pathway  that  could  be  termed  as  trigeminal  nerve–meninges–cerebrospinal  fluid–contacting  neurons–brain, which is a possible shortcut to brain functional regulation and cerebral disease treatment.

Key  words:  scalp  acupuncture,  mechanism,  neuronal  pathway,  trigeminal  nerve,  cerebrospinal  fluid-contacting neurons