Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 22, 2025
Monitoring Acupuncture Effects on Human Brain by fMRI
Published on: April 8, 2010
Cross-Cultural Brain Activity Differences Between True and Sham Acupuncture for Xerostomia During Head and Neck
Sarah Prinsloo1, David I Rosenthal1, Mary Kay Garcia1
1The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Background:
A prior phase III, multicenter (United States and China), clinical trial found true acupuncture (TA) resulted in lower xerostomia scores 12 months after radiotherapy than that of a standard care control group. This small pilot study examined brain function changes comparing TA to sham acupuncture (SA) in US and Fudan patients undergoing head and neck radiotherapy.
Methods:
To determine cerebral activity during TA versus SA acupuncture, patients underwent electroencephalogram evaluation (EEG) immediately prior, during and after both conditions. Acupuncture occurred during weeks 3 to 5 of radiotherapy, with patients receiving either TA or SA, followed 2 to 3 days later by the other treatment in a counterbalanced manner.
Results:
In the TA minus SA condition (N = 14 Fudan; N = 13 US), most changes were in the delta (0.5-3.5 Hz) and alpha (8-12 Hz) bandwidths. Delta was present in the frontal gyrus and parahippocampal gyrus. Alpha was present in the anterior and posterior cingulate, lingual gyrus, amygdala, precuneus, medial frontal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, and superior frontal gyrus. Maximal cortical differences in the Fudan cohort between TA and SA were in areas previously shown to be associated with (TA). In the US cohort, maximal differences between TA and SA were associated with areas which are usually decreased in TA conditions.
Conclusions:
There were distinct differences in brain function between those receiving TA and SA and there were clear differences between cultures, helping to explain the lack of placebo effect in the Fudan participants and strong placebo effect in the US patients.
