FUNCTIONAL MRI OF THE HUMAN BRAIN FOLLOWING

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　　<p style="text-align:center"><strong>FUNCTIONAL MRI OF THE HUMAN BRAIN FOLLOWING</strong></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:center"><strong><span style="font-size:19px">AURICULAR STIMULATION.</span></strong></p><p style="text-align:center">D. Alimi, MD¹, A. Geissmann, MD², D. Gardeur, MD³</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>1 Neurophysiologist, Chronobiologist, Head of Departement of Auriculotherapy, Faculty of Medicine of Paris,<st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region>. Medical Consulter at the Pain Service of Gustave Roussy Institute in Villejuif and of Kremlin-Bicêtre &nbsp; Hospital,<st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region>.</p><p>2 Director of Radiology Institute of Basel,<st1:country-region w:st="on">Switzerland</st1:country-region>.</p><p>3 Former Neuroradiology Chief Assistant at the Pitie-Salpêtriere Hospital in Paris,<st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region>.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Background: Acupuncture studies have used neuroradiology procedures to examine the role of the central nervous system (CNS) in body acupuncture, but none of these previous studies investigated CNS relationships to auriculotherapy.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Objective: To examine the hypothesisthat there are specific neurophysiological connections between ear acupoints and the CNS as evidenced by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Methods: Prospective study of fMRI images in 10 healthy subjects at the Institute of Radiology in Basel,<st1:country-region w:st="on">Switzerland</st1:country-region>, from march to may 2000.</p><p>Images were recorded in real time on cross-sections through the Rolandic area. The 5 stimulation conditions were conducted in a semi-randomized order: (1) at rest; (2) in the course of tactile stimulation of the right thumb; (3) in the course of tactile stimulation of the right thumb’s acupunctural site on the right ear; (4) after the insertion of this same site with 3 gold needles; and (5) in the course of the acupuncture mechanical stimulation of these same needles on the same site.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Results: For 9 of 10 subjects, acupuncture stimulation of the needles pricked in the thumb auricular site produced a significant MRI signal, located on the somatotopic projection of the thumb, at the level of the S1 somesthetic area. This signal could be surimposed on that obtained by tactile stimulation of the thumb. For all 10 subjects, no signal at all was recorded in the course of the tactile stimulations of the auricular thumb site, nore in the course of the mere pricks of this same site.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Conclusions: In this study, the power of fMRI as a tool of research supports the existence of specific neurophysiological connections between ear acupoints and human CNS. These results warrant further research in an attempt to understand the therapeutic operating mode of auriculotherapy.</p><p><br/></p>