Change in the P300 index - a pilot randomized controlled trial of low-frequency electrical stimulation of acupuncture points in middle-aged men and women.


Author: Choi KH1, Kwon OS1, Cho SJ1, Lee S1, Kang SY1, Ryu YH2

Affiliation: <sup>1</sup>KM Fundamental Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, 1672 Yuseong-daero, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon, 305-811, South Korea.

<sup>2</sup>KM Fundamental Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, 1672 Yuseong-daero, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon, 305-811, South Korea. yhryu@kiom.re.kr.
Conference/Journal: BMC Complement Altern Med.
Date published: 2017 May 3
Other:
 Volume ID: 17   ,  Issue ID: 1   ,  Pages: 246   ,  Special Notes: doi: 10.1186/s12906-017-1754-8.   ,  Word Count: 283  
    BACKGROUND: The P300 is a major index used to evaluate improvements in brain function. Although a few studies have reported evaluating the effectiveness of manual acupuncture or electro-acupuncture by monitoring the P300, research in this field is not yet very active. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of periodic low-frequency electrical stimulation applied to BL62 and KI6 on brain activity by analyzing the P300.



METHOD: The study was conducted as a randomized double-blind test of 55 subjects in their 50s, including 26 males and 29 females. Each subject received 12 sessions of stimulation over a one-month period. In each session, low-frequency electrical stimulation at an average of 24 μA and 2 Hz was applied to the acupuncture points BL62 and KI6, and event-related potentials (ERPs) were measured before the first session and after the last session of the electrical stimulation.



RESULTS: The results of a chi-square test indicated that the double-blind test was conducted correctly. Compared to the Sham group, all the subjects in the Real stimulation group showed a tendency toward a decreasing P300 latency and increasing P300 amplitude after all 12 sessions of stimulation. In the women, the amplitude significantly increased at Fz, Fcz, Cz, Cpz, and Pz.



CONCLUSIONS: With this experiment, the low-frequency electrical stimulation of two acupuncture points (BL62 and K16) was confirmed to have a positive influence on the prevention of natural cerebral aging.



TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was registered at the Clinical Research Information Service (CRIS) of the National Research Institute of Health ( https://cris.nih.go.kr/cris/search/search_result_st01_en.jsp? , Registration Number: KCT0001940). The date of registration was June 9, 2016.



KEYWORDS: BL62; Double-blind; KI6; Low-frequency electrical stimulation; P300; Sex difference



PMID: 28468616  DOI: 10.1186/s12906-017-1754-8