MRI Shows that Acupoints Possess Organ Specific Properties.

No acupuncturist would need this sort of validation but this is an important step toward the continual evolution of biomedical acceptance toward Chinese medicine as a valuable and, more importantly, an accurate healing modality.

MRI studies from both the University of California, Irvine and from Japan, found that treating acupoints which are known in acupuncture theory to hone to organs in the body, actually do just this. In these research publications, MRIs were able to demonstrate gastric and heart responses to acupuncture stimulation of the respective points. You can read about these studies here. An excerpt:

This is the latest in a series of investigations proving that specific acupuncture points have specific effects. In a related MRI acupuncture study, investigators note that acupuncture “induce(s) different cerebral glucose metabolism changes in pain-related brain regions and reduce(s) intensity of pain” for patients with migraines. PET-CT neuro-imaging (positron emission tomography - computed tomography) revealed that the choice of acupuncture points used determines exact changes in brain glycometabolism in specific regions of the brain.

Recent evidence shows that stimulation of different points on the body causes distinct responses in hemodynamic, fMRI and central neural electro physiological responses.” The investigators reviewed MRI results and noted that “stimulation of different sets of acupoints leads to disease-specific neuronal responses, even when acupoints are located within the same spinal segment.”