[Using functional brain imaging technique to study central mechanism of acupuncture therapy for chronic stable angina...

Heart-brain correlation is an important component of Chinese medicine about the theory of zang-fu organs, which is still valuable for acupuncture clinical practice. Nowadays, increasing evidence supports the close association between the heart-brain axis, central autonomic nerve network and cardiovascular diseases, as well as the extensive regulative effects of acupuncture intervention on the heart-brain axis, functional connectivity of the brain, automatic nerve activities and cardiac functions. Therefore, the authors of the present paper hold that from the viewpoint of the heart-brain relationship, and by combining non-invasive functional brain imaging techniques with the patients' subjective and objective clinical indexes, our researchers will possibly and systematically reveal the underlying central mechanisms of acupuncture therapy in the treatment of chronic stable angina pectoris. However, the concrete biochemical mechanism should be proved via other advanced biological techniques.