Activation of the hypothalamus characterizes the acupuncture stimulation at the analgesic point in human: a positron emission tomography study

We performed a positron emission tomography study, using regional cerebral blood flow as the index of brain activity, to address the specificity of brain activation pattern by acupuncture stimulation of short duration at the classical analgesic point. Needling manipulation at 2 Hz was performed at a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuroscience letters 2001-07, Vol.307 (2), p.105-108
Main Authors: Hsieh, Jen-Chuen, Tu, Chung-Haow, Chen, Fang-Pey, Chen, Min-Chi, Yeh, Tzu-Chen, Cheng, Hui-Cheng, Wu, Yu-Te, Liu, Ren-Shyan, Ho, Low-Tone
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acupuncture
Acupuncture Analgesia - methods
Adult
Afferent Pathways - diagnostic imaging
Afferent Pathways - physiopathology
Biological and medical sciences
Brain
Brain - diagnostic imaging
Brain - physiopathology
Brain Mapping
Brain stem
Cerebellum
Cerebrovascular Circulation - physiology
Female
Humans
Hypothalamus
Hypothalamus - diagnostic imaging
Hypothalamus - physiopathology
Insula
Male
Medical sciences
Miscellaneous
Pain
Pain - physiopathology
Positron emission tomography
Radiotherapy. Instrumental treatment. Physiotherapy. Reeducation. Rehabilitation, orthophony, crenotherapy. Diet therapy and various other treatments (general aspects)
Tomography, Emission-Computed
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Summary:We performed a positron emission tomography study, using regional cerebral blood flow as the index of brain activity, to address the specificity of brain activation pattern by acupuncture stimulation of short duration at the classical analgesic point. Needling manipulation at 2 Hz was performed at a classical point of prominent analgesic efficacy (Li 4, Heku) and a near-by non-classical/non-analgesic point, respectively, in normal subjects. Regions activated by acupuncture stimulation at Li 4 included the hypothalamus with an extension to midbrain, the insula, the anterior cingulate cortex, and the cerebellum. Of note, it was only the stimulation at Li 4 that activated the hypothalamus under the similar psychophysical ratings of acupuncture sensation ( deqi) as elicited by the stimulation at the two points, respectively. The data suggested that the hypothalamus might characterize the central expression of acupuncture stimulation at the classical analgesic point and serve as one key element in mediating analgesic efficacy of acupuncture stimulation.
ISSN:0304-3940
1872-7972
DOI:10.1016/S0304-3940(01)01952-8