Neural mechanisms of acupuncture as revealed by fMRI studies

Tian He; Wen Zhu; Si-Qi Du; Jing-Wen Yang; Fang Li; Bo-Feng Yang; Guang-Xia Shi; Cun-Zhi Liu

doi:10.1016/j.autneu.2015.03.006

Neural mechanisms of acupuncture as revealed by fMRI studies

Auton Neurosci. 2015 Jul:190:1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.autneu.2015.03.006. Epub 2015 Apr 2.

Authors

Tian He¹, Wen Zhu¹, Si-Qi Du¹, Jing-Wen Yang¹, Fang Li¹, Bo-Feng Yang¹, Guang-Xia Shi¹, Cun-Zhi Liu²

Affiliations

¹ Acupuncture and Moxibustion Department, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Capital Medical University, 23 Meishuguanhou Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100010, China.
² Acupuncture and Moxibustion Department, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Capital Medical University, 23 Meishuguanhou Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100010, China. Electronic address: lcz623780@126.com.

PMID: 25900479
DOI: 10.1016/j.autneu.2015.03.006

Abstract

As an ancient therapeutic method, acupuncture has been used to treat many diseases as an adjunctive therapy. However, its clinical efficacy remains controversial and the neural mechanisms have not been well understood. Accumulating studies have revealed that fMRI has made it possible to study brain responses to acupuncture. This review aims to provide scientific evidence to support the notion and discuss how these findings contribute to the neural mechanisms of acupuncture.

Keywords: Acupuncture; Neural mechanisms; fMRI.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Acupuncture Therapy*
Brain / physiology*
Brain / physiopathology
Brain Mapping
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging