XNKQ Acupuncture Compared to Control Interventions Measured With EEG and fMRI

Claudia M. Witt

Status

Completed

Conditions

Stroke

Treatments

Other: Control 2

Other: XNKQ

Other: Control 1

Other: Control 3

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT02453906

XNKQ-15

Details and patient eligibility

About

The investigators will use EEG, structural MRI, and resting-state functional connectivity MRI to assess neuronal responses in 28 healthy subjects to different somatosensory stimulations.

Full description

To develop a better understanding of the cerebral response to a complex somatosensory intervention with XNKQ acupuncture and to build a foundation for future studies with stroke patients our study aims to evaluate changes of brain activity and brain structure in healthy subjects after XNKQ acupuncture in comparison to three control interventions. We will use EEG, structural MRI, and resting-state functional connectivity MRI to assess neuronal responses in 28 healthy subjects to a) strong manual needle-stimulation of the acupuncture points DU26, PC6 and SP6 (XNKQ acupuncture), b) insertion of needles on the acupuncture points DU26, PC6 and SP6 without stimulation (control 1), c) strong manual needle stimulation of three non-acupuncture points (control 2), and d) insertion of needles on three non-acupuncture points without stimulation (control 3). With this, our study aims to create results which inform future studies in patients and might be helpful for the rehabilitation of deficits after stroke.

Enrollment

29 patients

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 40 years old

Volunteers

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Healthy subjects (18 to 40 years of age) health status confirmed by a comprehensive neurological examination
Right-handed (evaluated by "the Edinburgh inventory")
Informed consent
No acupuncture treatment in the last 12 months
No medical knowledge about acupuncture

Exclusion criteria

History of neurological and/or psychiatric diseases
History of brain injury
Cognitive handicap and severe speech disorder
alcohol or drug abuse
History of neurosurgical intervention
Chronic disease (e.g., asthma, diabetes mellitus etc.) with regular use of medications
Usage of acute medication
Pregnancy (tested by urine pregnancy test before the measurement) or planned pregnancy
Any contraindication for acupuncture (e.g., anti-coagulation therapy)
Any exclusion criteria for MRI scanning (metal implants (e.g. pacemaker), claustrophobia, etc.)
Participation in another interventional trial.