Acupuncture Point Location Is Important

Real Acupuncture and Sham Acupuncture

Are Different, fMRI Says

Acupuncture is effective for managing pain, but its site-specificity is always questioned. A new study was conducted to compare the cerebral responses of needling applied to an acupuncture point to the needling of a sham point, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Twenty-one healthy male volunteers were enrolled in the study. Manual stimulation of the acupuncture point Neiting (ST 44) and a sham point on the dorsum of the left foot was applied during fMRI in a crossover manner. fMRI data analysis was performed contrasting the Neiting (ST 44) and the sham conditions. Stimulation intensity, subjective discrimination of the needling site and the incidence of "Qi" sensation were additionally recorded. Stimulation of point Neiting (ST 44), in comparison to the sham procedure, was associated with an increased fMRI-activation in the primary somatosensory, the inferior parietal and the prefrontal cortex and the posterior insula. Sham needling was associated with increased activation in the anterior cingulate cortex and the anterior insula. Verum acupuncture increased the activity of discriminative somatosensory and cognitive pain processing areas of the brain, whereas sham needling activated the areas responsible for affective processing of pain. This study may explain favorable effects of verum acupuncture in clinical studies about treatment of chronic pain patients.

Usichenko TI, Wesolowski T, Lotze M. Verum and sham acupuncture exert distinct cerebral activation in pain processing areas: a crossover fMRI investigation in healthy volunteers. Brain Imaging Behav. 2014 Apr 12.