Acupuncture has a measurable effect on the brain.
The treatment of aches and pains through the ancient Chinese medicine, commonly known as...
Combined diprenorphine PET study and fMRI of Acupuncture Analgesia
Functional neuroimaging studies suggest that a lateral network in the brain is associated with the sensory aspects of pain perception while a medial network is associated with affective aspects. The highest concentration of opioidreceptors is in the medial network. There is significant evidence that endogenous opioids are central to the experience of pain and analgesia.
We applied an integrative multimodal imaging approach during acupuncture. We found functional magnetic resonance imaging signal changes in the orbitofrontal cortex, insula, and pons and [11C] diprenorphine positron emission tomography signal changes in the orbitofrontal cortex, medial prefrontal cortex, insula, thalamus, and anterior cingulate cortex. These findings include brain regions within boththe lateral and medial pain networks.
Country: USA Institute: Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH),
Harvard Medical School, MA 02129, USA; Athinoula A. Martinos Center forBiomedical Imaging, and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center,
MGH, Charlestown,
Author(s): Dougherty DD, Kong J, Webb M, Bonab AA, Fischman AJ, Gollub RL.
Journal: Behav Brain Res. 2008 Nov 3;193(1):63-68.
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