Why the study?
Does electro-acupuncture at different frequencies alter autonomic function measured by heart rate variability in healthy adults?
Does electro-acupuncture at different frequencies alter autonomic function measured by heart rate variability in healthy adults?
Electro-acupuncture at 2 Hz increases vagal activity, whereas 15 Hz increases sympathetic activity in healthy adults.
Should not yet inform EA use in practice; leaves open frequency-specific autonomic effects for targeted research.
The purpose of the present study was to investigate effect of electro-acupuncture (EA) at different frequencies on autonomic function. Twenty healthy adult volunteers were studied, and underwent 4 sessions of EA (sham, 2 Hz, 15 Hz, and 50 Hz). Sham, 2 Hz, 15 Hz, and 50 Hz EA was applied to the bilateral Leg Three Li ( zú sān lǐ, ST-36) and Upper Great Hollow ( shàng jù xū, ST-37) acupoints. The intensity of electrical stimulation was adjusted to obtain visible twitching of the anterior tibial muscle about 2.0-2.5 mA except sham without electrical stimulation. The components of heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure were measured before EA (BLP), EA (EAP), and post-EA periods (PEP). The results indicated that the natural logarithmic high frequency power (lnHF) of HRV was greater during PEP than during the BLP in the 2 Hz EA sessions. The natural logarithmic low frequency power (lnLF) of HRV was greater during the PEP than during the BLP in 15 Hz EA sessions, suggesting that 2 Hz EA apply to Leg Three Li ( zú sān lǐ, ST-36) and Upper Great Hollow ( shàng jù xū, ST-37) acupoints increased vagal activity, whereas 15 Hz EA increased sympathetic activity.
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Jia et al. (2011) studied this question.
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