Clinical Application of Functional MRI : Motor Cortex Activities by Acupuncture

We report a preliminary fMRI evidence of modulation of somatomotor areas by acupuncture in GB34 acupoint. GB34, located in the back of the knee, is known to be effective in recovering motor function after stroke. Using 3T MR scanner, functional MR imaging was performed in five normal volunteers in two stimulation paradigms; acupuncture manipulation on GB34 and sham points. Group analysis from five individuals showed that bilateral sensorimotor areas (BA 3,4,6 and 7) showed stimulation related BOLD signal contrast of approximately 6％ whereas very few areas were activated when sham stimulation is given. Our results suggest that acupuncture fMRI study can be safely conducted in 3T environment, and stimulation in GB34 modulate the cortical activities of the somatomotor area in human.