Brain Specificity Of Acupuncture Response At Different Acupoints: A FMRI Study With Manual-acupuncture

PURPOSE: To find out whether the activation regions of brain using fMRI by the acupuncture stimulations at different acupoints are specific-acupoint or not. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Functional MRI of the whole brain was performed in one group of 15 healthy volunteers during four stimulation paradigms: acupuncture at real acupoints ST36, GB34, sham acupoint (near ST36 and GB34) and tactile stimulation. The fMRI data were analysed using the SPM99 software program. RESULTS: Acupuncture at ST36, GB34 and sham resulted in activation of paleocerebellum which includes secondary neuron of somesthetic sensibility is non-specific. Among somatosensory area area, motor area, somatic sensation association area, cingulated gyrus and thalamus, the range and mode of either activation or deactivation is the specific between real and sham acupuncture, acupuncture and tactile stimulation respectively, although some areas are overlapped. The deactivation regions resulted from the real and sham acupoints mainly locate in the limbic system, occipital lobe and temporal lobe, and these areas share little overlap. CONLUSION: The activated regions of the brain resulted from different acupoints are specific and non-specific, too. It remains to be investigated weather the different responses of brain are related to the effects of different acupoints.