Figure 2.

The influence of sensations on brain fMRI signal changes during acupuncture and sensory control at ST36. Group average functional results showing signal decreases (blue) and increases (red), thresholded at p<0.001 and a 3-voxel cluster size. All slices are 2mm parasagittal in the right hemisphere in Talairach space (Talairach and Tournoux, 1988). (Left) Acupuncture with deqi sensations without sharp pain (n=11) resulted in widespread signal decreases. (Center) Acupuncture with mixed deqi and sharp pain sensations (n=4) resulted primarily in signal increases. (Right) Sensory control (n=5) also resulted in signal increases beyond dedicated sensorimotor areas. Regions: (1) frontal pole, (2) subgenual cingulate, (3) ventromedial prefrontal cortex, (4) hypothalamus, (5) posterior cingulate, (6) reticular formation, (7) cerebellar vermis, (8) middle cingulate, and (9) thalamus.