PMID- 28673350 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20170818 LR - 20181113 IS - 1472-6882 (Electronic) IS - 1472-6882 (Linking) VI - 17 IP - 1 DP - 2017 Jul 3 TI - Psychophysical responses in patients receiving a mock laser within context of an acupuncture clinical trial: an interoceptive perspective. PG - 348 LID - 10.1186/s12906-017-1859-0 [doi] LID - 348 AB - BACKGROUND: The psychophysical responses induced by verum acupuncture are characterized by a constellation of unique subjective sensory responses commonly termed De Qi. Furthermore, a variety of sham interventions have been used as a control for acupuncture clinical trials. Indeed, one such control has been mock laser which has been used as control intervention in several acupuncture clinical controlled trials. The current study aim was to examine the De Qi sensory responses and its related characteristics elicited from acupuncture and compare them to those reported following sham laser in participants enrolled in a clinical trial. METHODS: The study was embedded in a multi-center, two-arm randomised clinical trial, which evaluated the effect of acupuncture on lateral elbow pain. De Qi was assessed using the Massachusetts General Hospital Acupuncture Sensation Scale (MASS). Ninety-six participants were randomly allocated to receive either acupuncture (n = 47) or mock laser (n = 49) at the acupoints LI 10 and LI 11. RESULTS: Participants in both intervention groups reported similar De Qi psychophysical characteristics; however, both intensity and frequency of the individually perceived De Qi characteristics were significantly higher in the acupuncture group. 'Soreness', 'deep pressure', and 'fullness-distension' in the acupuncture group and 'tingling', and 'sharp pain' in mock laser group, were identified as the leading characteristics. Similar level of MASS De Qi Index (MDI) scores were reported for 'Hong Kong-China' and 'Australia-Italy' with a significantly higher level of De Qi reported by 'Hong Kong-China'. Furthermore, two distinct De Qi categories were identified, namely De Qi (in line with classical sensory responses of Suan, Ma, Zhang, and Zhong) and pain. CONCLUSIONS: Subjective 'somatic or interoceptive awareness' should be taken into account when De Qi psychophysical responses are examined. The study accentuates the necessity and the significance of further research into interoception phenomenon which may contribute to a better understanding of the placebo effect and De Qi psychophysical responses. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry reference: ACTRN12613001138774 on 11th of October 2013. FAU - Razavy, Shohreh AU - Razavy S AD - School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia. FAU - Gadau, Marcus AU - Gadau M AD - School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, 7 Baptist University Road Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, SAR, China. FAU - Zhang, Shi Ping AU - Zhang SP AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-6336-0626 AD - School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, 7 Baptist University Road Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, SAR, China. spzhang@hkbu.edu.hk. FAU - Wang, Fu Chun AU - Wang FC AD - Changchun University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changchun, Jilin, 130117, China. FAU - Bangrazi, Sergio AU - Bangrazi S AD - Istituto Paracelso, 00153, Rome, Italy. FAU - Berle, Christine AU - Berle C AD - School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia. FAU - Harahap, Mahrita AU - Harahap M AD - School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia. FAU - Li, Tie AU - Li T AD - Changchun University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changchun, Jilin, 130117, China. FAU - Li, Wei Hong AU - Li WH AD - School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia. FAU - Zaslawski, Christopher AU - Zaslawski C AD - School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia. LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Multicenter Study PT - Randomized Controlled Trial DEP - 20170703 PL - England TA - BMC Complement Altern Med JT - BMC complementary and alternative medicine JID - 101088661 SB - IM MH - Acupuncture Points MH - Acupuncture Therapy/*psychology MH - Adult MH - Australia MH - Awareness MH - Female MH - Humans MH - Lasers MH - Male MH - Pain/*psychology MH - Pain Measurement/*psychology MH - Patients/*psychology MH - Qi MH - Sensation MH - Young Adult PMC - PMC5496139 OTO - NOTNLM OT - Acupuncture OT - De Qi OT - Interoceptive OT - Mock laser OT - Psychophysical responses COIS- ETHICS APPROVAL AND CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE: Human ethics approval was sought and obtained at each site (University of Technology Sydney, Australia; Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong; Changchun University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China and Istituto Paracelso, Italy). This trial was registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry on the 11th of October 2013 (Identifier: ACTRN12613001138774). CONSENT FOR PUBLICATION: All authors consented to publication. COMPETING INTERESTS: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. EDAT- 2017/07/05 06:00 MHDA- 2017/08/19 06:00 PMCR- 2017/07/03 CRDT- 2017/07/05 06:00 PHST- 2017/02/14 00:00 [received] PHST- 2017/06/26 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2017/07/05 06:00 [entrez] PHST- 2017/07/05 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2017/08/19 06:00 [medline] PHST- 2017/07/03 00:00 [pmc-release] AID - 10.1186/s12906-017-1859-0 [pii] AID - 1859 [pii] AID - 10.1186/s12906-017-1859-0 [doi] PST - epublish SO - BMC Complement Altern Med. 2017 Jul 3;17(1):348. doi: 10.1186/s12906-017-1859-0.