Fig. 1.

The role of cognitive components in acupuncture treatment

Acupuncture treatment involves touch, insertion, and healing ritual, consisting of multiple components including somatosensory stimulation, treatment context, and attention to needle-based procedures. Bottom-up components of acupuncture include somatosensory inputs, and top-down components include bodily awareness, bodily attention, anticipation of stimulation, and medical context. Because cognitive components of acupuncture contribute to acupuncture analgesia, sham acupuncture can achieve similar clinical improvements to real acupuncture.