Understanding Central Mechanisms of Acupuncture Analgesia Using Dynamic Quantitative Sensory Testing: A Review

Table 3

Examples of varied parameters in generating CPM.

Parameter	Examples
Conditioning stimulus	Cold water bath (0–10°C) [68], heat (thermode or water bath) [69], hypertonic saline injection [70], and inflated blood pressure cuff [71]
Testing stimulus	Pain detection thresholds [69], rating of a predetermined single pain stimulus [68], and TS protocols [72]
When to measure test stimulus again	Varies widely: from during the conditioning stimulus [73] up to 30 min after the conditioning stimulus [74]
Location of stimulus	Large variation in the relative distance between the testing and conditioning stimuli: for example, upper body to upper body [68] versus upper body to lower body [51]
Computation	Relative or absolute changes in threshold measures or ratings of predetermined pain stimulus [43]