Journal of Acupuncture and Tuina Science 2008;6(4):242-244

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study on Acupuncturing Shenmen (HT 7) and Sham Acupoint

Shangjie CHEN ; Jianwei LIU ; Bo LIU ; Shanshan WU ; Jun CHEN ; Pengcheng RAN ; Yuanchun XIAO

Keywords

Acupuncture; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Acupoint; Shenmen (HT 7)

Country

China

Language

Chinese

Abstract

Objective: To observe the conditions of the activating areas in the brain evoked by needling Shenmen (HT 7) acupoint. Methods: Twelve healthy young volunteers were needled at Shenmen (HT 7) acupoint with rotating and twisting techniques. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was adopted to detect the brain activating areas, TR/TE/FA=3560 ms/50 ms/90°. After scanning, the images were dealt with SPM2. Results: Needling Shenmen (HT 7) primarily activated BA2 and BA1 of the gyms postcentralis in right-sided frontal lobe, BA47 of left-sided inferior frontal gyms and BA43 of left-sided gyms postcentralis, and also activated BA40 of inferior parietal lobule in right-sided parietal lobe, BA22 of gyrus temporalis superior in left-sided lobus temporalis, and BA40 of right-sided insula; however, the sham acupoints could not activate these nucleus. Conclusion: Needling Shenmen (HT 7) can activate the relevant functional areas in the brain.