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.