Review Article
Acupuncture-Analgesia-Mediated Alleviation of Central Sensitization
Table 1
Possible pathways through which acupuncture analgesia alleviates central sensitization.
| Mechanism | Related part of neuron/nucleus |
| (1) Segmental inhibition | dorsal horn | (2) Endogenous opioid pathway | dorsal horn, PAG, NRM, dorsal raphe nucleus | (3) Adrenergic pathway | dorsal horn, PAG, raphe nuclei, locus coeruleus and brainstem (A1, A2, A4-7 nuclei), forebrain | (4) 5-Hydroxytryptamine pathway | NRM, RVM, trigeminal nucleus caudalis | (5) NDMA pathway | dorsal horn | (6) Local inflammatory environment | nerve ending, dorsal horn |
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NMDA: N-methyl-D-aspartic acid; PAG: periaqueductal gray; NRM: nucleus raphe magnus; RVM: rostral ventromedial medulla.
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