New research on neural circuits solves the mystery of acupuncture points

Xinhua News Agency, London, October 14 (Reporter Guo Shuang) The Chinese and American scientific research team published a study in the new issue of the British journal Nature, which provides a modern neuroanatomical basis for the relatively specific existence of acupuncture points
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One of the core mechanisms of acupuncture and moxibustion to treat diseases is to remotely regulate body functions by stimulating specific parts of the body (acupoints).
This is the core concept and valuable asset of traditional Chinese medicine, and meridians are considered to be an important transmission carrier to achieve this remote effect
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Modern anatomical research has not yet clarified the existence of the specific structural basis of the meridian, but revealed that the long-range effect of acupuncture stimulation can be achieved through the somatosensory nerve-autonomic nerve reflex
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In the latest research conducted by the team of Professor Ma Qiufu from Harvard Medical School, Professor Wang Yanqing from Fudan University, and Professor Jing Xianghong from the Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion , China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences , researchers discovered a type of PROKR2-Cre labeled DRG sensory nerve It plays an essential role in the activation of the vagus nerve-adrenal gland anti-inflammatory pathway by low-intensity acupuncture stimulation
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Studies have shown that for acupuncture stimulation to induce the vagus nerve-adrenal gland anti-inflammatory pathway, there is body site selectivity and acupoint specificity
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Researchers believe that these findings enrich the modern scientific connotation of acupuncture and other body surface stimulation therapies, and provide an important scientific basis for clinical optimization of acupuncture stimulation parameters and inducing different autonomic reflexes to treat specific diseases (such as inflammatory storms, etc.