Call now:612-512-9051
Your health is our top priority
Mental Disorders
Clinical Evidence and Mechanism
Anxiety and depression are the top 2 and top 3 disease for Americans seeking help from acupuncture.
Functional MRI has shown the location in the brain for acupuncture points work on. Acupuncture can work on the neurons, to make chemicals such as cortisol levels balanced.
For example, the two vision-related points GB37 (gall bladder) and UB60 (urinary bladder) showed deactivation in visual brain areas like the Cuneus. Thus, acupuncture seems to affect the brain’s processing of both physical Sensations and Emotions.
Mechanisms of anxiolytic action of acupuncture.
Preventive effect of acupuncture at specific acupoint HT7 on the expression of anxiety-like behavior and the over-secretion of corticosterone (CORT) during ethanol withdrawal was observed in rats. Additionally, acupuncture at HT7 also inhibited the increase in the levels of norepinephrine (NE) and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-phenylglycol (MHPG) and the decrease in the levels of dopamine (DA) and 3, 4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) in central nucleus of the Amygdala (CEA) induced by ethanol withdrawal.
BIOCHEMICAL MECHANISMS OF ACUPUNCTURE
The autonomic nervous system (ANS), which is comprised of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), regulates the internal conditions necessary for existence (homeostasis). Information is received from the body and external environment and a response is delivered by either the SNS, which releases excitatory signals, or the PNS which releases signals for relaxation. These signals direct the body to react in very different ways, such as increasing the heart rate and contraction force, or by reducing blood pressure and slowing the heart rate. It is exciting to know that studies show acupuncture has an effect on both the SNS and the PNS, as some further examples presented below reveal.
One of the most sensitive measures of the body’s ability to cope with stress is something called Heart Rate Variability (HRV). Rather than beating consistently at the same rate like a metronome, the heart actually changes its rate based on its fine-tuned response to the environment. A higher HRV has been
associated with better health in all domains, including mental health and low levels of anxiety. Acupuncture has been shown to improve the body’s ability to cope with stress through improving HRV. When the body is under stress, an area of the brain called the hypothalamus releases neurochemicals, and research shows that acupuncture can calm this response. Acupuncture has also been shown to increase the release of endorphins, the body’s own ‘feel-good’ chemicals, which play an important role in the regulation of physical and emotional stress responses such as pain, heart rate, blood pressure and digestive function. All of these acupuncture mechanisms have a direct effect on reducing anxiety.