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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Monitoring Acupuncture Effects on Human Brain by fMRI

Monitoring Acupuncture Effects on Human Brain by fMRI

Published on: April 8, 2010

Individual differences of acupuncture analgesia in humans using cDNA microarray.

Younbyoung Chae¹, Hi-Joon Park, Dae-Hyun Hahm

¹Department of Oriental Medical Science, Graduate School of East-West Medical Science, Gyeunggi-do 446-701, Republic of Korea.

The Journal of Physiological Sciences : JPS

|November 7, 2006

Summary

Genetic factors, not psychological ones, influence how well acupuncture works for pain relief. This study identified specific genes linked to high and low responses in acupuncture analgesia.

Related Concept Videos

DNA Microarrays

DNA Microarrays

Microarrays are high-throughput and relatively inexpensive assays that can be automated to analyze large quantities of data at a time. They are used in genome-wide studies to compare gene or protein expression under two varied conditions, such as healthy and diseased states. Microarrays consist of glass or silica slides on which probe molecules are covalently attached through surface functionalization. Most commonly, the slides are prepared through the chemisorption of silanes to silica...

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Genetics
Integrative Medicine

Background:

Acupuncture analgesia is known to be influenced by the endogenous opioid system.
Significant individual variation exists in the analgesic response to acupuncture stimulation.
Understanding the genetic basis of this variation is crucial for personalized pain management.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify and characterize genes that differ between high responders (HR) and low responders (LR) to acupuncture stimulation.
To investigate the role of genetic inheritance versus psychological factors in acupuncture analgesia variability.
To correlate gene expression profiles with pain threshold changes following acupuncture.

Main Methods:

Utilized cDNA microarray analysis on blood samples from HR and LR participants classified by the finger withdrawal latency (FWL) test after LI 4 acupuncture point stimulation.

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Last Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Monitoring Acupuncture Effects on Human Brain by fMRI

Monitoring Acupuncture Effects on Human Brain by fMRI

Published on: April 8, 2010

Analyzed gene expression differences between HR and LR groups using Code Link UniSet Human 20K microarray chips.

Assessed psychological variation using the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90-R).

Main Results:

Acupuncture stimulation significantly increased FWL in the HR group, with minimal change in the LR group (9:6 HR to LR ratio).
Gene expression analysis revealed 353 upregulated and 22 downregulated genes in the HR group compared to the LR group.
No significant differences in SCL-90-R profiles were observed between the HR and LR groups, suggesting psychological factors did not drive the response variation.

Conclusions:

Individual differences in acupuncture analgesia are primarily attributed to genetic inheritance.
Specific gene expression patterns correlate with varying responses to acupuncture stimulation.
These findings provide a foundation for understanding the genetic underpinnings of acupuncture efficacy.