Tag: pain

Effects of Electrical Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation on the Perceived Intensity of Repetitive Painful Heat Stimuli: A Blinded Placebo- and Sham-Controlled Randomized Crossover Investigation.

This article by a similar group makes a somewhat startling conclusion, but one which I had noticed in the clinic and thought it was spurious. Only in male participants, TVNS was superior to sham and placebo conditions in the reduction of heat pain before the onset of TSP. I don’t look at pain thresholds, but…

Medical Research

Acupuncture Mechanisms: Habituation

I love this study. It is suggesting a novel, and reasonable model for acupuncture’s effectiveness over time. Habituation is a topic I know nothing about, indeed, never really thought about except in regards to opiates. This study lays out a working hypothesis using fMRI showing that acupuncture meets the criteria for habituation, and might…