英国研究人员日前报告说，利用现代科学手段检查中国传统针灸的效果，发现它可以引起大脑相应部位神经的变化，这有助于分析针灸的作用原理。
英国约克大学等机构的研究人员在新一期美国学术期刊《脑研究》上报告说，17名受试者接受了手上合谷穴针灸，并同时接受大脑扫描。合谷穴位于手背虎口下方。研究人员发现，在那些认为有“得气”感觉的受试者中，与处理疼痛有关的大脑某部位神经出现活动降低的情况。
“得气”是指针灸过程中患者产生的酸、麻、胀等感觉，被认为是针灸取得效果的重要条件。如果针灸时患者没有“得气”而只是感觉疼痛，那么针灸效果可能不佳。本次研究发现，在仅感觉疼痛的患者中，大脑相关部位的神经出现复杂变化：一些部位的神经活动增强，而另一些部位的神经活动减弱。
参与研究的休·麦克弗森说，这项研究提供了的科学证据说明，针灸可引起大脑产生一些特殊变化，这有助于理解针灸复杂的作用原理。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原始出处：
Brain Research doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2009.12.019
Acupuncture needling sensation: The neural correlates of deqi using fMRI
Aziz UR Asghara, b, Gary Greena, Mark F. Lythgoec, George Lewithd and Hugh MacPhersone, ,
a York Neuroimaging Centre, University of York, Y10 5DG, UK
b Hull York Medical School and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Hull, Hull, HU6 7RX, UK
c RCS Unit of Biophysics, UCL Institute of Child Health, University College London, WC1N 3JH, UK
d Complementary Medicine Research Unit, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK
e Department of Health Sciences, University of York, YO10 5DD, UK
The needling sensation of deqi is considered by most acupuncturists to be an important component of acupuncture, yet neuroimaging research that investigates this needle sensation has been limited. In this study we have investigated the effect of deqi and acute pain needling sensations upon brain fMRI blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals. Seventeen right-handed participants who received acupuncture at the right LI-4 (Hegu) acupoint were imaged in a 3T MRI scanner. fMRI datasets were classified, on the basis of psychophysical participants' reports of needling scores, into those that were associated with predominantly deqi sensations versus those with predominantly acute pain sensations. Brain areas showing changes in BOLD signal increases (activations) and decreases (deactivations) were identified. Differences were demonstrated in the pattern of activations and deactivations between groupings of scans associated with deqi versus pain sensations. For the deqi grouping, significant deactivations occurred, whereas significant activations did not. In contrast, the predominantly acute pain grouping was associated with a mixture of activations and deactivations. For the comparison between the predominately deqi sensation grouping and the acute pain sensation grouping (deqi > pain contrast), only negative Z value voxels resulted (mainly from deactivations in the deqi grouping and activations in the pain grouping) in the limbic/sub-cortical structures and the cerebellum regions of interest. Our results show the importance of collecting and accounting for needle sensation data in neuroimaging studies of acupuncture.
