As a Master of Chinese Medicine and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Shi Xuemin has traced the origins of classical medical theories and integrated them with long-term clinical practice, establishing a distinctive academic system of acupuncture and moxibustion. He has always taken clinical efficacy as the core evaluation criterion, adhering to the principle of inheriting and innovating traditional Chinese medicine. He has reinterpreted the meridian and collateral disease manifestations recorded in Ling Shu , endowing ancient medical theories with clear and practical clinical connotations; he has put forward the academic thinking of "prioritizing disease differentiation combined with syndrome differentiation", emphasizing that treating the root cause of diseases lies in first identifying the pathogenesis, and giving full play to the advantages of acupuncture and moxibustion in targeted treatment of specific diseases; based on the classical theory that "the brain is the residence of the primordial spirit", he has established the principle of regulating the spirit via acupuncture and moxibustion, and created the Xingnao Kaiqiao Acupuncture Method, laying a solid foundation for acupuncture treatment of encephalopathy; he was the first to advocate the "quantitative study of acupuncture manipulation", standardizing key parameters such as the direction, magnitude of acupuncture force, operation duration, and treatment inteval, thus transforming acupuncture manipulation from empirical operation to standardized practice. This academic system has promoted the modernization of acupuncture and moxibustion science, setting a benchmark for the inheritance and innovation of traditional acupuncture and moxibustion.

Master of Chinese Medicine Academician Shi Xuemin has devoted decades to the clinical practice and scientific research of traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture. He has formed a systematic academic ideology and technical system for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke. Centering on the Xingnao Kaiqiao Acupuncture Method and supported by the standardization of acupuncture manipulation quantitation, he innovatively established the Shi's Stroke Unit Therapy, constructing a complete diagnosis and treatment system of "theoretical innovation-technical standardization-clinical transformation" for stroke, which has become an important model for integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine in stroke treatment. His academic thoughts break through the theoretical and technical limitations of traditional acupuncture for stroke treatment. By targeting the central mental system with acupuncture, he set up quantifiable and repeatable operational standards for acupuncture, and established a multi-disciplinary collaborative whole-cycle diagnosis and treatment model for stroke. Clinical application of the Xingnao Kaiqiao Acupuncture Method can significantly improve the therapeutic effect in all stages of stroke, and reduce the disability rate and the risk of complications. Meanwhile, his academic ideology lays a foundation for the standardization and evidence-based development of acupuncture discipline, and provides a new integrated Chinese and Western medicine approach for the standardized diagnosis and treatment of stroke, exerting a profound influence on clinical popularization and disciplinary development.

Acupuncture is a commonly used and effective clinical therapy for insomnia, featuring safety, non-invasiveness and stable therapeutic effects. Director Ye Gaxi is an apprentice of Academician Shi Xuemin, Master of Chinese Medicine. He has systematically explored and verified that Meridian-Sinew Acupuncture based on the meridian-sinew theory exerts a definite curative effect on insomnia.Its mechanism is closely related to the nourishment and protection of cerebral spirit by the running course of meridian-sinews, as well as the holistic regulation of nutrient-defense, qi and blood circulation. This therapy can effectively improve sleep structure and relieve daytime discomforts.Meridian-Sinew Acupuncture treats insomnia holistically based on the integration of sinew-spirit-qi and blood, breaking through the traditional mind-soothing approach. It follows the diagnosis and treatment principles that relaxed sinews calm the spirit, and a calm spirit ensures sound sleep. It further enriches the traditional Chinese medicine etiology and pathogenesis theory of insomnia as well as acupuncture intervention strategies, and provides new ideas and popularizable practical approaches for the standardized and individualized diagnosis and treatment of insomnia in clinical practice.

The Xingnao Kaiqiao Acupuncture Method and the spirit-regulating ideology established by Academician Shi Xuemin, Master of Chinese Medicine, have not only enriched the theoretical system of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), but also provided important theoretical and practical guidance for the field of preventive treatment of disease in TCM.Academician Shi Xuemin's academic thought of preventive treatment of disease is developed around the theory of spirit-brain-orifices. In the prevention and treatment of diseases, it focuses on the pathogenic changes of spirit. Based on the Xingnao Kaiqiao acupuncture system established under the therapeutic principle of regulating spirit, it combines syndrome differentiation with disease differentiation to achieve simultaneous treatment of both manifestation and root cause.This paper explores the clinical application of Academician Shi Xuemin's preventive treatment ideology in the early intervention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, so as to provide a reference for enriching the theoretical system of TCM preventive medicine and guiding clinical practice.

Based on long-term clinical practice of acupuncture and integration of classical theories, Academician Shi Xuemin, Master of Chinese Medicine, innovatively proposed a new technique of collateral-pricking combined with negative-pressure blood collection with glass cupping to address the clinical limitations of traditional collateral-pricking therapy, such as difficulty in controlling blood loss and insufficient discharge of static blood. He established standardized operational procedures and a quantitative evaluation system, which has remarkably improved the clinical efficacy of this therapy in the treatment of difficult and complicated diseases. By systematically sorting out typical proven cases of Academician Shi Xuemin applying this technique in the treatment of various dominant diseases, this paper deeply interprets his academic thoughts and syndrome differentiation principles, and comprehensively summarizes the key links of clinical operation. It is intended to provide theoretical basis and practical guidance for the standardized promotion and clinical application of collateral-pricking therapy.

To explore the potential early effect of "Tiaoshen Yizhi" acupuncture on the resting-state electroencephalogram (EEG) phase lag index (PLI) in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and to evaluate the correlation between PLI and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score.

A total of 48 patients with aMCI recruited from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University and its affiliated community health service centers from June 2020 to December 2023 were randomly divided into acupuncture group (24 cases) and sham acupuncture group (24 cases) using the random number table method. In the acupuncture group, Sishencong (EX-HN1), Yintang (GV29), bilateral Neiguan (PC6), Fenglong (ST40), Sanyinjiao (SP6), Taixi (KI3) and Taichong (LR3) were selected. The sham acupuncture group adopted non-meridian non-acupoint points 1.0 cun lateral to the above acupoints. Both groups received treatment 3 times a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday), 30 minutes each time, for 8 consecutive weeks. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores were compared between the two groups before and after intervention. Resting-state EEG signals were collected for 6 minutes respectively before and after intervention, the PLI of EEG functional connectivity was calculated, and the correlation between PLI and MoCA score was analyzed. Safety evaluation was also performed.

After intervention, the MoCA score of the acupuncture group was significantly higher than that before intervention (t=3.74, P<0.05); the MMSE and MoCA scores in the acupuncture group were higher than those in the sham acupuncture group (t=2.818, 2.309, P<0.05). After intervention, the PLI of δ band in the acupuncture group was markedly increased compared with baseline (t=5.41, P<0.05), and was higher than that in the sham acupuncture group (t=5.14, P<0.05). In the acupuncture group, the difference value of MoCA score before and after treatment was significantly positively correlated with the difference value of δ band PLI (r=0.567 5, P=0.003 8).

"Tiaoshen Yizhi" acupuncture can regulate EEG functional connectivity and improve cognitive function in aMCI patients. The δ-band PLI may serve as a neurophysiological marker for the early curative effect of acupuncture. Its mechanism may be related to enhancing the synchrony of slow-wave oscillations and delaying cognitive decline.

To explore the electroencephalogram (EEG) characteristics of acupuncture at Neiguan (PC6) poin in the Xingnao Kaiqiao Acupuncture Method.

The subjects of this study were patients with ischemic stroke (IS) who met the inclusion criteria and were treated in the Acupuncture Department of the First Teching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from September 2024 to February 2025. EEG was used to record the brain electrical activity of the subjects during acupuncture at Neiguan (PC6). The immediate effects of acupuncture at Neiguan (PC6) were explored by power spectral density (PSD) and microstate parameter analysis methods, and the characteristic changes of resting-state EEG before and after acupuncture at Neiguan (PC6) were compared.

EEG data of 13 cases of acupuncture at Neiguan (PC6) were collected. The average PSD of Theta band after acupuncture was higher than that before acupuncture (Z=-2.691, P<0.05); there were no statistically significant differences in the average PSD of Delta, Alpha and Beta bands before and after acupuncture (Z=-1.363, -1.922, t=-2.035, all P>0.05). After acupuncture, the GEV, time coverage rate and average duration in microstate B were all higher than those before acupuncture (t=-2.717, -2.359, -2.307, all P<0.05). After acupuncture, the GEV, occurrence frequency, time coverage rate and average duration in microstate C were all lower than those before acupuncture (Z=-2.830, -2.970, -2.760, -2.062, all P<0.05). After acupuncture, the occurrence frequency, time coverage rate and average duration in microstate D were all higher than those before acupuncture (t=-2.704, -4.164, -3.969, all P<0.05).

Acupuncture at Neiguan (PC6) has the effect of regulating brain functional activities with obvious immediate effects, and its effect is closely related to the dynamic changes of the brain electrical network, which provides an important basis for further explaining the central regulatory mechanism of acupuncture.

Based on the traditional Chinese medicine theory of treating spirit, this paper analyzes the internal correlation between pain disorders and negative emotions such as depression and anxiety. It elaborates the theoretical connotation of spirit-regulating and analgesic effects of the Xingnao Kaiqiao Acupuncture method established by Academician Shi Xuemin, a Master of Chinese Medicine, and further explores its potential therapeutic mechanisms. The study indicates that this acupuncture protocol may target and activate the prefrontal cortex-amygdala-brainstem neural circuit integrating pain and emotions, mediated mainly by β-endorphin. It coordinately regulates the balance of monoamine neurotransmitters and the functional homeostasis of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, reverses central sensitization, and breaks the vicious cycle of "pain-negative emotion". Ultimately, it achieves bidirectional regulation of spirit soothing and pain relief. This study aims to provide a novel clinical strategy for the treatment of pain disorders in traditional Chinese medicine based on emotional regulation.

The Xingnao Kaiqiao Acupuncture Method was established by Academician Shi Xuemin, a Master of Chinese Medicine, for the treatment of stroke. It features innovative theoretical conception, exquisite acupoint selection and remarkable clinical efficacy. On the basis of inheriting the theories of ancient physicians and combining modern medicine, Academician Shi Xuemin clearly proposed that the core pathogenesis of stroke lies in orifice blockage and mental concealment, as well as spirit failing to govern qi. Namely, the mansion of primordial spirit loses its function; blockage of brain orifices leads to the spirit having no attachment. Although the treatment focuses on unblocking the obstructed brain orifices, it is not limited to treating the brain alone. Neiguan (PC6) belongs to the Pericardium Meridian of Hand-Jueyin and is one of the main acupoints of the Xingnao Kaiqiao Acupuncture Method. It possesses the effects of regulating spirit and replenishing qi, as well as dredging meridians and collaterals. It can soothe brain spirit by regulating heart spirit and nourish brain marrow by unblocking heart vessels, sharing the same profound mechanism with the theory of simultaneous treatment of brain and heart. Neiguan (PC6) can serve as a key link connecting the Xingnao Kaiqiao Acupuncture Method and the theory of simultaneous treatment of brain and heart, providing theoretical and practical support for the synergistic regulation of cardiac and cerebral functions in the clinical treatment of stroke. The theory of simultaneous treatment of brain and heart holds that the occurrence and progression of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases result from the imbalance of brain-heart coordination. Therefore, the core therapeutic principle of simultaneous treatment of brain and heart should be established in the clinical management of stroke. Based on the theory of simultaneous treatment of brain and heart, this paper elaborates on the importance of Neiguan (PC6) in the Xingnao Kaiqiao Acupuncture Method from the perspectives of brain-heart sharing blood, brain-heart governing spirit together, and brain-heart connecting via meridians and collaterals.