Body of Research

Since prior studies of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have had inconsistent findings (owing to variability in stimulation targets and parameters), the authors undertook to develop a transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS)/functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) system enabling the comparison of taVNS in relation to control stimulation through concurrent electrical stimulation and fMRI acquisit...

Research into the clinical specificity of ear acupuncture points representing organs or structures of the body is ongoing. In this pilot study, using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), researchers study point specificity using two auricular points having different topographical locations and clinical significance: stimulation of Thumb Auricular Acupoint (TAA) and stimulation of Brain Stem Auricular Acupoint (BSAA). The differences in activation patterns between TAA and BSAA stimula...

Physicians who practice medical acupuncture, often provide acupuncture treatment in cases where patients have reportedly “failed” to respond to contemporary Western medicine, and have found provide considerable benefit. Physicians appreciate an understanding of the biologic evidence, and in the paper, "Acupuncture: The Search for Biologic Evidence with Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Positron Emission Tomography Techniques," Zhang-Hee Cho, PhD, and his colleagues present comparis...

David Alimi at Neurosciences Society used Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to demonstrate the direct relationship of auricular reflex zones (acupuncture points on the ear) to corresponding points on the body. Request the full paper on ResearchGate Reference:Alimi D, Geissmann A, Gardeur D. Auricular Acupuncture Stimulation Measured on Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Med Acupunct. 2002;13:18-21.