Acupuncture Changes our Brain's Perception of Pain

Functional magnetic resonance (fMR) images showing brain activity during electrical pain stimulation at the left ankle. Parts of the so-called "pain matrix" are activated: (a) primary somatosensory cortex (S1), (b) right insula, (c) precuneus, (d) left insula.
Credit: Image courtesy of Radiological Society of North America


Acupuncture induces lasting pain relief. Doctors using MRI neuroradiology scans captured images showing how acupuncture accomplishes enduring analgesia. 

The researchers state that the MRI images reveal that “acupuncture and pain mobilize overlapping brain regions and the same intrinsic networks.” They add that “acupuncture consists of specific brain activation–modulating patterns that outlast the needling period….” 

The new MRI findings demonstrate that the effective actions exerted by true acupuncture points are specific to certain brain networks. A great deal of research on the brain pathways and biochemical mechanisms relating to acupuncture treatments has been published within the last two years. One of the more intriguing studies demonstrates that a biochemical responsible for pain reduction is activated by acupuncture.

Prior to this research, it was known that acupuncture caused opioid peptide releases in the spinal cord, brain and peripheral nervous system. The new research extends “these findings by demonstrating that electroacupuncture stimulated the increased numbers of leukocytes (macrophages) containing the three opioid peptides END, ENK, and DYN and that all three opioid peptides mediated antinociception to thermal and mechanical stimuli….”




Refereneces:

Theysohn, Nina, Kyung-Eun Choi, Elke R. Gizewski, Ming Wen, Thomas Rampp, Thomas Gasser, Gustav J. Dobos, Michael Forsting, and Frauke Musial. "Acupuncture-Related Modulation of Pain-Associated Brain Networks During Electrical Pain Stimulation: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study." The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (2014).
Author affiliations:
Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.
Complementary and Integrative Medicine, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
University Clinic of Neuroradiology, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.
National Research Center in Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Health
Science, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway.

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Schiapparelli P, Allais G, Rolando S, et al. Acupuncture in
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1:S15-18.

Wang, Ying, Rebekka Gehringer, Shaaban A. Mousa, Dagmar Hackel, Alexander Brack, and Heike L. Rittner. "CXCL10 Controls Inflammatory Pain via Opioid Peptide-Containing Macrophages in Electroacupuncture." PloS one 9, no. 4 (2014): e94696.