Using fMRI, Chinese researchers have shown that the organisation of functional brain networks is altered after acupuncture and that these alterations exhibit point specificity. Eighteen healthy young adults were scanned before and after acupuncture at Zusanli ST-36 and a sham point. They found that, while functional brain networks showed increased local efficiency after acupuncture, there were no significant differences after sham, indicating that true acupuncture at Zusanli ST-36 was capable of coordinating local information flow over the whole brain. True acupuncture at Zusanli ST-36 also reliably elicited effects in various specific brain regions (including the left hippocampus, anterior cingulate cortex, frontal, parietal, occipital limbic and subcortical regions). (Altered small-world efficiency of brain functional networks in acupuncture at ST36: a functional MRI study. PLoS One. 2012;7(6):e39342. Epub 2012 Jun 22).
Categories: Acupuncture research, Neurological
