ABSTRACT
Objective To study the effect of acupuncture Zusanli on brain functional magnetic resonance imaging.Methods 96 healthy volunteers were randomly divided into acupoint group and non-acupoint group.The acupoint group received acupuncture Zusanli,and the non-acupoint group received manipulation,acupuncture and sham acupuncture.The functional brain imaging was determined by MRI,the brain functional images were compared between two groups.Results All subjects were matched with the end of the experiment,the acupoint group received acupoint stimulation,had obvious needling sensation,the non-acupoint group had mild needling sensation.The acupoint group activated 13 brain regions,non-acupoint group in 10 brain regions,the thalamus,pons,supramarginal gyrus in non-acupoint group without the activation.In the basal ganglia (28 cases vs.5cases) and temporal lobe (38cases vs.21cases) between the two groups were activated,the difference was statistically significant(x2 =36.250,P ＜ 0.05).In the temporal lobe,the left hemisphere response rate(73.68％) was significantly higher than the right hemisphere (36.84％),the difference was statistically significant (x2 =8.265,P ＜ 0.05).In the basal ganglia,left hemisphere activation (67.86％) was higher than that of the right hemisphere(42.86％),but the difference was not statistically significant (x2 =0.724,P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion The research of acupuncture by brain functional magnetic resonance imaging showed that Zusanli acupoint can activate the brain function area through brain regulation and treatment of body organs,so as to prove the existence of its own and meridian sensing characteristics.