电针刺激穴位的脊髓fMRI初步研究

Feasibility of fMRI of the human cervical spinal cord using electrical acupoints stimulation

目的检测电针刺激合谷穴和曲池穴的脊髓fMRI的可行性。方法 8名健康志愿者,电针同时刺激右手合谷穴和右肘曲池穴,采用组块设计方法,使用SPM2软件得到功能激活的t检验图,在矢状位上分析脊柱不同区的激活总像素数和最大强度值,在横断位上观察激活区的位置,并对比不同刺激时间对激活分布和信号强度的影响。结果 8名志愿者脊髓中均存在激活,矢状面上激活点分布在脊柱C2～T1段,但主要集中在脊柱C2、C4、C5和C6段。横断面上主要激活区域位于同侧,尤其是在脊髓的后角及前角(功能区),同时发现对侧后角有少量显著激活区。与刺激5次组相比,刺激3次组的最大激活信号强度较高,且伪激活数较少。结论使用电针刺激合谷穴和曲池穴,通过脊髓磁共振功能成像技术可观测到脊髓的功能激活区,而且激活分布具有一定特征性。

Objective：To explore the feasibility of spinal cord fMRI using electrical stimulation of the Hoku and Quchi acupoints.Materials and Methods：There were eight healthy volunteers whose Hoku acupoint in the right hand and Quchi acupoint in the right fore-arm were stimulated by electrical acupuncture simultaneously.Based on the block design method,functional responses were established by students＇ group t-test analysis of the SPM2 software.The total number of pixels and the maximum intensity value of spinal cord activation in sagittal plane were analyzed.Meanwhile,the location of activation in axial plane was observed.Furthermore,the influence of the different stimulation time on the signal distribution and strength was compared.Results：There were activations in both sagittal plane and axial plane of eight volunteers.The activations distributed in spinal segments C2-T1,but mainly concentrated in C2,C4,C5 and C6 segments.The ipsilateral main active regions,especially in the posterior horn of the spinal cord and anterior horn（functional area）,were found in axial plane and less significantly active areas were also found on the lateral horn.The maximum signal strength of three times stimulation group is higher than that of five times stimulation group and there are fewer false activation in three times stimulation group.Conclusion：The spinal cord activation areas led by electrical simulation of Hoku and Quchi acupoints can be observed by fMRI.There are certain characteristics with the distribution of the activation.