New Insights into How Acupuncture Works

In an effort to improve the understanding as to how acupuncture works, Hugh MacPherson, from the University of York (United Kingdom), and colleagues conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of seventeen volunteers to whom acupuncture was administered. The diagnostic testing revealed that acupuncture deactivates pathways in the brain, rather than the body, that otherwise experience pain. Finding that acupuncture therapy affects signaling in the limbic/sub-cortical structures and the cerebellum regions of the brain, the researchers are hopeful that further research will allow acupuncture to become more broadly accepted as a treatment option for a wide variety of medical conditions.