Acupuncture changes brain activities

Functional magnetic resonance images (fMRI) is a new technique to study brain activities. This technique is also help to study the effect of acupuncture on the brain. Many studies used fMRI to investigate the effect of acupuncture on the brain. For example a study collected 229 papers in Chinese and 109 in English published in journals from January of 1995 to January of 2018. In this study they analysed 11 papers containing 235 cases. Acupuncture increases brain activities on some regions including the right and left anterior cingulated gyrus, right caudate, left superior frontal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, and the right paracentral lobe, and decreases other region activities including the left mid-inferior occipital gyrus, left and right precentral and postcentral gyrus. Acupuncture on St 36 acupuncture point increased some regions activities including the right inferior parietal lobe, left middle inferior gyrus, right posterior lobe of cerebellum, and the left angular gyrus and deceased activities on the right middle superior frontal gyrus.

A recent paper showed the brain activities effect of acupuncture at Liangqiu (ST34), Xuehai (SP-10), Neixiyan (EX-LE4), and Dubi (ST-35). Acupuncture activated the postcentral gyrus, precuneus, temporal, posterior lobe, and occipital lobe.

References
Xiang AF et al Zhen Ci Yan Jiu. 2019 Jan 25;44(1):66-70. doi: 10.13702/j.1000-0607.180138.
Li A et al Medicine (Baltimore). 2018 Dec;97(50):e13655. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000013655.