Purpose: To determine whether or not acupuncture of guangming (GB 37) produces a significant response of the visual cortex detectable by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Materials and Methods:This study investigates the activation of the visual cortex elicited by a soft and an intensified stimulation of GB 37, an acupoint documented to influence vision-related disorders. Three different paradigms were carried out to detect any possible modulation of the Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD)-response in the visual cortex to visual stimulation through acupuncture. Results:The percentage signal changes in the visual stimulation cycles did not significantly differ before vs. during acupuncture. Conclusion:Whereas no BOLD-response correlating with acupuncture was detected in the visual cortex, BOLD-signal-changes in response to needle twisting were detected in different cortical areas. Further studies are necessary to clarify whether these clusters correlate to inevitable somatosensory stimulation accompanying acupuncture or represent an acupuncture-specific response. IN WESTERN COUNTRIES, acupuncture, a therapeutic method originating in prehistoric traditional theory and philosophical concepts of Chinese medicine, has recently gained increasing recognition as an effective complementary method in the therapy of organic diseases. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the insertion of acupuncture needles in characteristic points of the body surface regulates imbalances of the organism through stimulation or soothing of functional organic systems. The acupoints are arranged on socalled "meridians", which represent a network of channels each connected to a functional organic system. The so-called "Foot-Shao-Yang", or gallbladder meridian of the limbs, originates from the outer canthus of the eye (GB 1) and, after taking several turns, descends downward on the lateral aspect of the leg to the lateral side of the tip of the fourth toe (GB 44). In respect to this topographic relationship, points of the Foot-Shao-Yang meridian, even though they might be located on the leg, are described as effective acupoints directly influencing disorders related to the eyes (1,2). Although the nature of the meridians is not well established in general, a functioning peripheral nervous system seems to be essential to induce the so-called "De Qi"-phenomenon, a local tingling sensation, which, according to classic literature, is essential for the effectiveness of acupuncture. The discovery that opioid peptides are released by acupuncture (3,4) and modern neurophysiological evidence, especially in the field of acupuncture analgesia, suggest that the effect of acupuncture is transmitted through the neuronal system.The mode of action of acupuncture analgesia has been investigated extensively. Evaluation of recent studies in acupuncture and new findings in the field of neurophysiology have led to the following main theories on the mechanisms of acupuncture (5): 1. Acupuncture stimulates small myelinated primary affer...

Acupuncture is the most popular component of traditional Chinese medicine in Western countries. However, the mechanisms of its effects remain unclear. The therapeutic effect of acupuncture appears when a sensation of DeQi is achieved. We previously reported that repeated, but not single acupuncture treatment affected leukocyte circulation and blood pressure in healthy young humans. The objective of this study was to quantify DeQi sensation by using visual analog scales (VASs) and, to test whether DeQi induction is an important factor for the therapeutic effects of acupuncture in the same cohort. After either acupuncture or sham-acupuncture (placebo) treatment, a questionnaire containing five individual VASs was given to subjects to evaluate their DeQi sensation, including numbness, pressure, heaviness, warmth, and radiating paraesthesia, respectively. A separate VAS to measure their levels of anxiety during the treatment was also included. Our results showed that acupuncture significantly induced higher VAS values for numbness, pressure, warmth, and radiating paraesthesia, but not for heaviness than the placebo across three treatment sessions. Additionally, acupuncture did not induce higher anxiety levels than the placebo. These data confirm that VAS is an objective and reliable way to quantify DeQi sensation and, indicate that DeQi is unique to verum acupuncture treatment. Furthermore, either acupuncture-induced therapeutic effects or DeQi sensation should not be attributed to the stress-mediated effects. In summary, the induction of DeQi in each treatment session is an important factor for the physiological outcomes of repeated acupuncture treatment, and VASs offer objective, an easy and reliable way to assess it.

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