Electroacupuncture as adjunctive therapy for insomnia via targeting the GABAergic microbiota-gut-brain axis: a mini review
Insomnia, affecting up to 30% of adults (typically 18–65 years), is characterized by GABAergic dysfunction and hyperarousal. This mini-review establishes three pivotal advances in insomnia therapeutics: Firstly, it is demonstrated that microbiota-gut-brain axis (MGBA) dysregulation is mechanisticall...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1613408/full |
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| author | Xiao Wang Lijuan Yan Xiaodong Zhang Xiang Liu Xiang Liu Bin Yang |
| author_facet | Xiao Wang Lijuan Yan Xiaodong Zhang Xiang Liu Xiang Liu Bin Yang |
| author_sort | Xiao Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Insomnia, affecting up to 30% of adults (typically 18–65 years), is characterized by GABAergic dysfunction and hyperarousal. This mini-review establishes three pivotal advances in insomnia therapeutics: Firstly, it is demonstrated that microbiota-gut-brain axis (MGBA) dysregulation is mechanistically central to insomnia, directly linking gut dysbiosis to vagal, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA), and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) axis dysfunction and neuroinflammation. Secondly, the present study documents the unique multitarget effects of electroacupuncture (EA), which have been shown to simultaneously normalize HPA axis activity, enrich GABA-producing microbiota, improve the vagal tone, and suppress neuroimmune activation. The aforementioned effects collectively resolve insomnia’s multifactorial etiology. Thirdly, clinical evidence confirms the sustained efficacy of EA to be comparable to that of hypnotics, yet with superior safety and durability. EA redefines therapeutic frameworks by integrating biological and neural interventions that are inaccessible to single-target approaches. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c3265f7572af4fe6a5da436e2b4a4796 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj-art-c3265f7572af4fe6a5da436e2b4a47962025-08-20T03:28:01ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402025-07-011610.3389/fpsyt.2025.16134081613408Electroacupuncture as adjunctive therapy for insomnia via targeting the GABAergic microbiota-gut-brain axis: a mini reviewXiao Wang0Lijuan Yan1Xiaodong Zhang2Xiang Liu3Xiang Liu4Bin Yang5Department of Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, ChinaDepartment of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, ChinaDepartment of Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, ChinaNeuroscience Program, Department of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United StatesDepartment of Radiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United StatesDepartment of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, ChinaInsomnia, affecting up to 30% of adults (typically 18–65 years), is characterized by GABAergic dysfunction and hyperarousal. This mini-review establishes three pivotal advances in insomnia therapeutics: Firstly, it is demonstrated that microbiota-gut-brain axis (MGBA) dysregulation is mechanistically central to insomnia, directly linking gut dysbiosis to vagal, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA), and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) axis dysfunction and neuroinflammation. Secondly, the present study documents the unique multitarget effects of electroacupuncture (EA), which have been shown to simultaneously normalize HPA axis activity, enrich GABA-producing microbiota, improve the vagal tone, and suppress neuroimmune activation. The aforementioned effects collectively resolve insomnia’s multifactorial etiology. Thirdly, clinical evidence confirms the sustained efficacy of EA to be comparable to that of hypnotics, yet with superior safety and durability. EA redefines therapeutic frameworks by integrating biological and neural interventions that are inaccessible to single-target approaches.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1613408/fullinsomniaelectroacupunctureγ-aminobutyric acidgut microbiotamicrobiota-gut-brain axis |
| spellingShingle | Xiao Wang Lijuan Yan Xiaodong Zhang Xiang Liu Xiang Liu Bin Yang Electroacupuncture as adjunctive therapy for insomnia via targeting the GABAergic microbiota-gut-brain axis: a mini review Frontiers in Psychiatry insomnia electroacupuncture γ-aminobutyric acid gut microbiota microbiota-gut-brain axis |
| title | Electroacupuncture as adjunctive therapy for insomnia via targeting the GABAergic microbiota-gut-brain axis: a mini review |
| title_full | Electroacupuncture as adjunctive therapy for insomnia via targeting the GABAergic microbiota-gut-brain axis: a mini review |
| title_fullStr | Electroacupuncture as adjunctive therapy for insomnia via targeting the GABAergic microbiota-gut-brain axis: a mini review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Electroacupuncture as adjunctive therapy for insomnia via targeting the GABAergic microbiota-gut-brain axis: a mini review |
| title_short | Electroacupuncture as adjunctive therapy for insomnia via targeting the GABAergic microbiota-gut-brain axis: a mini review |
| title_sort | electroacupuncture as adjunctive therapy for insomnia via targeting the gabaergic microbiota gut brain axis a mini review |
| topic | insomnia electroacupuncture γ-aminobutyric acid gut microbiota microbiota-gut-brain axis |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1613408/full |
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