physiology. For the article “New findings of the correlation between acupoints and corresponding brain cortices using functional MRI,” by Z. H. Cho, S. C. Chung, J. P. Jones, J. B. Park, H. J. Park, H. J. Lee, E. K. Wong, and B. I. Min, which appeared in issue 5, March 3, 1998, of Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (95, 2670–2673), the authors reported a specific cortical correlation with a given acupoint and suggested that there could be correlation between acupoint stimulation and cortical activation, for example via increased blood flow in the visual cortex. Accumulating evidence suggests that the central nervous system is essential for processing these effects, via its modulation of the autonomic nervous system, neuro-immune system, and hormonal regulation. We, therefore, carried out a series of studies questioning whether there really is point specificity in acupuncture, especially vis-à-vis pain and acupuncture analgesic effects as we originally reported in our PNAS article, that had not yet been confirmed by other studies. We have reported some of these results as preliminary observations (1, 2). Having concluded that there is no point specificity, at least for pain and analgesic effects, and that we no longer agree with the results in our PNAS article, the undersigned authors are retracting the article. J. P. Jones, J. B. Park, and H. J. Park have not approved this retraction.
Z. H. Cho
S. C. Chung
H. J. Lee
E. K. Wong
B. I. Min
References
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