Redefining pain and mental health management in cervical spondylosis: Electroacupuncture as a neuroinflammatory modulator and multimodal therapeutic innovation

Figure 1 Proposed electroacupuncture-driven neuroimmune mechanism in cervical spondylosis with comorbid generalized anxiety disorder. Low-intensity electroacupuncture at ST36 engages somatotopic, intensity-specific vagal circuits and α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors on immune/glial cells to inhibit nuclear factor kappa-B, decrease tumor necrosis factor-alpha/interleukin-6, and increase interleukin-10, while a parallel vagal-adrenal branch contributes to systemic cytokine suppression, jointly disrupting the pain-anxiety-inflammation cycle. α7nAChR: Α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors; EA: Electroacupuncture; NTS: Nucleus tractus solitarius; DMV: Dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus; NF-κB: Nuclear factor kappa-B; TNF: Tumor necrosis factor; IL: Interleukin; TGF: Transforming growth factor; CS: Cervical spondylosis; GAD: Generalized anxiety disorder.