Figure 1.

Experimental paradigm. Panel A indicated that acupuncture needle manipulation was performed at an acupoint ST36 (Zusanli, arrow pointing to red dot) or a nonmeridian‐point focus approximately 2–3 cm distant laterally (NMP, arrow pointing to green dot) on the right leg, respectively. Functional run incorporated the block design paradigm with two cycles, 1 min ON (A1/A2) and 1 min OFF (R1/R2) epoch, preceded by a 1 min baseline period (BL). For statistical analyses, the signal intensity of the BL phase served as a control baseline for detecting signal changes in the sequential four epochs. Panel B presented the design paradigm in the visual experiment. Visual stimulus (V1/V2) was presented for 1 min, with 1 min rest (R1′) between stimuli, preceded by a 1 min baseline BL and followed by a 1 min rest condition (R2′). Total scanning lasted for 5 min. [Color figure can be viewed in the online issue, which is available at www.interscience.wiley.com.]