Acupuncture Affects the Brain

A research study at the First School of Clinical Medicine. Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province in China,  used brain scans to demonstrate changes that occur with acupuncture stimulation. The study compared acupuncture at TH 5 with needle stimulation at a non acupuncture point and found a difference in the brains of subjects. Subjects  that received  effective point stimulation (de qi) at TH 5 demonstrated significant activated brain areas in brodmann areas 6, 8, 19, 21, 28, 33, 35, 37, 47, the parahippocampal gyrus, lentiform nucleus, claustrum and red nucleus; deactivated points were seen in brodmann areas 9 and 25. Subjects with sham acupuncture did not have similar areas of brain activation.

On dogs & cats, TH 5 (Wai Guan) is located 1-4 finger breadths up from the front leg joint called the carpus (equivalent of human wrist) on the outside or lateral surface.  TH 5 is used to treat fever, chills, stiffness & pain in the neck, to balance yin & yang in the body (coupled with PC 6). It is the Yang Wei master point when coupled with GB 41.

What the research from the School of Clinical Medicine shows is that acupuncture stimulation of TH 5 has an affect on the body because, in part, of its effect on the brain.

If you want to read the full research study,  look for the Journal of Acupunct Med. 2012 Sep 29. The article is titled: Brain areas involved in acupuncture needling sensation of de qi: a single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) study.  Authors: Chen JR, Li GL, Zhang GF, Huang Y, Wang SX, Lu N. Source First School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.