Gender differences in the neural response to acupuncture: clinical implications

• Published in: Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society 2016-10, Vol.34 (5), p.364-372
• Main Authors: Yeo, Sujung, Rosen, Bruce, Bosch, Peggy, Noort, Maurits van den, Lim, Sabina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acupuncture Points; Acupuncture Therapy - methods; Adult; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain - physiology; Brain Mapping - methods; Female; Healthy Volunteers; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Sex Factors
• ISSN: 0964-5284; 1759-9873
• DOI: 10.1136/acupmed-2015-011025

ObjectiveTo examine gender differences and similarities in the psychophysical and brain responses to acupuncture at GB34, a point that is frequently used to treat motor function issues in Traditional Chinese Medicine.MethodsFunctional MRI (fMRI) was used to measure brain activation in response to acupuncture at GB34 (on the right) in 19 healthy participants (9 male, 10 female). De qi sensations were rated to measure their psychophysical responses.ResultsOverall de qi scores did not differ by gender, although females reported greater intensity of aching (p=0.04). Acupuncture activated the hippocampus, thalamus, globus pallidus, caudate body, claustrum, cingulate gyrus, and culmen in males, and the middle and inferior frontal gyrus, precuneus, postcentral gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, superior temporal gyrus, caudate body, insula, fusiform gyrus, cingulate gyrus, amygdala, and parahippocampal gyrus in females. The middle/medial frontal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, thalamus, globus pallidus, caudate body, uvula, and cerebellar tonsil were activated when data from all subjects were combined. Relative to males, females exhibited greater brain activation in the right-sided postcentral gyrus, precentral gyrus, precuneus, postcentral gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, declive, middle occipital gyrus and parahippocampal gyrus.ConclusionsThe neural effects of GB34 acupuncture might differ between males and females because different brain structures were modulated in response to acupuncture. This potential gender effect should be taken into account in future clinical research. We also revealed that the caudate body was activated by GB34 acupuncture in both males and females and may represent a major target of GB34 acupuncture.Trial registration numberKMC IRB 0861-06.