Tag: acupuncture and brain research
Reduced tactile acuity in chronic low back pain is linked with structural neuroplasticity in primary somatosensory cortex and is modulated by acupuncture therapy
This new article by friend of blog Vitaly Napadow shows improved tactile acuity after treatment with acupuncture for Low Back Pain. This is significant because “Previous neuroimaging studies have shown that other chronic pain disorders also demonstrate altered brain structure in S1, as well as other pain-related brain areas (As-Sanie et al., 2012, Kong et al.,…
Read MoreEffects of Acupuncture on Chronic Stress-Induced Depression-Like Behavior and Its Central Neural Mechanism
Interesting selection of points. Perhaps necessary in the case of using mice, but nonetheless maybe I should branch out a bit. I ususally like using points on the distal extremities because, according to the ancient teachings, they are more powerful. They treated the mice daily for 7 or 14 days and were able to show…
Read MoreEditorial: Neural Substrates of Acupuncture: From Peripheral to Central Nervous System Mechanisms
This editorial article summarized recent acupuncture research found. It came up on my feed because of Vitaly Napadow, friend of blog. He’s branched out so much in his research, I’m glad to see him still intimately involved in acupuncture issues. Vitaly Napadow,1,* Florian Beissner,2 Yiwen Lin,3 Younbyoung Chae,4 and Richard E. Harris5 Author information Article…
Read MoreWarm Needle Acupuncture Shows Anti-Aging Effects in Animals
This study looks at moxibustion, warm needle moxibustion in elderly rats to see effect on their gonads. It appears that there is an anti-aging effect in the testes which originates in the pituitary. Since the HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis is key in stress response, this, of course interests me. Also because of acupuncture’s claims in leading…
Read MoreElectroacupuncture and the Septo-Hippocampal Cholinergic System
I assume that the reason that there is an entire journal devoted to the hippocampus(!) is that it is essential to memory and laying down new memories. So to focus on the workings of the hippocampus, and optimizing its function is relevant to the epidemic of dementia and Alzheimer’s dementia. Luigi Manni has done a…
Read MoreGut Bacteria and Brain Conditions
This article points out that gut bacteria studied in mice have an effect on multiple brain related conditions. It’s too soon to say if there will be any treatments to come out of this research, but clearly the gut microbiome is closely related to brain conditions. “Now researchers are pinpointing individual strains that seem to…
Read MoreAcupuncture modulates the abnormal brainstem activity in migraine without aura patients.
A sizable portion of my practice is devoted to migraine patients, finding best treatments and researching their physiological response. This paper looks at the role of abnormal brainstem activity in migraine patients without aura and how acupuncture affects it. As with most Chinese studies we can only partly draw conclusions since they treated 5 x…
Read MoreAcupuncture analgesia involves modulation of pain-induced gamma oscillations and cortical network connectivity.
A study out of Germany looking at vagal HRV (High Frequency) and brain connectivity. I like to see these studies showing up in science journals instead of acupuncture journals. We’re getting there. Acupuncture analgesia involves modulation of pain-induced gamma oscillations and cortical network connectivity. Hauck M1,2, Schröder S3, Meyer-Hamme G4, Lorenz J5, Friedrichs S1,4, Nolte…
Read MoreAcupuncture Mechanisms for Asthma
This animal study demonstrates some of the mechanisms behind acupuncture’s effectiveness for asthma including airway inflammation and the hypothalamic-adrenal-pituitary axis. These effects are not unique to asthma, and can help to explain acupuncture’s effectiveness in other immune and inflammatory dysfunction. Neurosci Lett. 2017 Jan 1;636:177-183. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2016.11.001. Epub 2016 Nov 2. Regulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity…
Read MoreTranscutaneous Vagal Nerve Stimulation to the Neck
Study showing that stimulation of the vagus nerve in the neck elicits the same brain activity as invasive (implanted) vagal nerve stimulation, or auricular vagal nerve stim. As patients and blog readers know, I study vagal response with HRV in the clinic in conjunction with acupuncture. But I’m keenly interested in noninvasive vagal nerve stimulation…
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