A new study lends support to the notion that acupuncture may actually
modulate the brain's perception of pain. In a study that used
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to track brain activity
both before and during acupuncture, researchers led by Dr. Nina Theysohn
at the University Hospital in Essen, Germany, and colleagues at
University of Duisburg-Essen documented a specific pattern of brain
activation during acupuncture that may represent an accessible pathway
for addressing pain.
In the small trial, which involved 18
volunteers, each volunteer was placed in the fMRI scanner and then
given a small electrical stimulus in the left ankle to generate pain.
Acupuncture needles were then inserted at three places on the right
side corresponding to regions known to modulate the ankle pain, and the
fMRI was repeated. Comparing the brain scans before and after
acupuncture, the scientists found that areas of the brain that were
active during the pain stimulus were dampened during acupuncture,
suggesting that the needles actually do cause a change in the way that
the brain perceives and processes pain.