Acupuncture Mechanism Studies Employing Task-based fMRI: A Scoping Review Protocol

Abstract Background: Acupuncture is a widely used alternative and complementary therapy. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is an important technique to explore the underlying mechanism of acupuncture, and the task-based fMRI can reflect the instant effects or sustained effects of acupuncture in the brain. This scoping review aims to summarize the characteristics of acupuncture mechanism studies employing Task-based fMRI and conclude a reference for future studies.Methods/design: This review will follow the Guidance for Conducting Systematic Scoping Reviews. Eligible articles will be collected from 6 databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, CNKI, WanFang and VIP) with the related keywords such as “Acupuncture” and “fMRI” and those articles should be published from the establishment of the database to June 30th, 2020. Each research step will involve at least two reviewers. The PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systemic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Extension for Scoping Reviews) will be used to organize the review.Discussion: This review aims to clarify the extent of acupuncture mechanism studies employing task-based fMRI. It is supposed to make a critical evaluation or to propose quality requirements for future studies by summarizing the objectives and designs of eligible studies. What’s more, directional suggestions will be provided for further studies.Scoping review registration: Open Science Framework https://osf.io/zjrdc/.