It has long been argued that there is no way to prove the "pointalism" theories of alternative therapies. While testing has been conducted to show that alternative therapies benefit individuals with a particular disorder, it was thought that specifically stimulating one part of the body could not be shown to specifically impact another part. In other words, the stimulation of a specific organ-related reflexology area or an acupoint was not capable of being demonstrated as influencing that organ.
Recent research has changed the discussion of such issues. The application of acupuncture needles to visual-related acupoints on the foot has been shown to stimulate the same areas of the brain as stimulated by shining a light in the eyes. Physicist Zang-Hee Cho of the University of California at Irvine (UCI) and others conducted a preliminary study of twelve volunteers.
MRI images, maps showing activation in the visual cortex of the brain, were recorded for: (1) each of eight acupoints stimulated running from the little toe to the ankle (2) the visual stimulation of shining a light in the eyes, and (3) non acupoint stimulation in the big toe. The MRI's of needling an eye-related acupoint and shining a light in the eye were virtually identical.
In addition, "Cho noticed something else. … he saw there were two distinct reactions among the dozen volunteers. During the acupuncture phase some showed an increase in (fMRI) activity, while others showed a decrease. In other words, in some people oxygen consumption in that brain region increased, while in others, it decreased. … "I figured we must have made a mistake. … 'Finally one of the acupuncturists mentioned, 'Oh, yes, it's yin and yang.' Cho asked
him which subjects were yin and which were yang, and without seeing the data the practitioner correctly pointed out who had shown an increase in activity (yang) and who had a decrease (yin) in 11 of the 12 cases."
Cho queried a UCI neuroscientist to understand the connection between the tip of the little toe that had been needled as a acupoint and the visual cortex of the brain. "Easy, said the UCI neuroscientist he asked. The nerves in the foot connect to the central nervous system, which connects to a part of the brain that includes the visual cortex. As the acupuncture signal passes to the brain via nerves, it possibly stimulates the hypothalamus, the "executive center" of the brain responsible for the production and release of hundreds of neurochemicals, Cho said. These neurochemicals, together with the autonomic nervous system, Cho said, might have some effect on vision-related disorders. Perhaps, he suggested they are Qi."
In e-mail correspondence with Kevin Kunz, Dr. Cho states, "Of course, it (his explanation of the workings of acupuncture) is all homeostasis. Our findings, perhaps, suggest that our acupuncture signal or messages are projected to the higher brain centers thereby allowing us to explain the above disease cure or treatment hypotheses."
No previous research has detected the flow of qi. "According to neuroscientist Bruce Pomeranz of the University of Toronto, numerous studies over the past twenty years have shown that inserting needles into acupoints stimulates nerves in underlying muscles. That stimulation, researchers believe, sends impulses up the spine to a relatively primitive part of the brain known as the limbic system, as well as to the midbrain and pituitary gland. Somehow that signaling leads to the release of endorphins and monoamines, chemical that block the signal in the spinal cord and the brain. The result: A well-documented 'acupuncture analgesia. …'"
Pomeranz notes that the "endorphin story 'doesn't explain many of the other claims of acupuncture.' Joie Jones, coauthor of the study with Cho states " 'They noticed that when you applied a needle in one position, it would have an effect in another part of the body. But the connection through the brain was never made. With these studies, we've demonstrated that for at least some acupuncture points it goes through the brain.
"Yet even if it does go through the brain, how does stimulating a specific point on the foot trigger activity in the part of the brain that controls vision. There is no explanation for that either, says Cho, although he suspects that the path is along the nervous system. If that proves to be true, it's probably not the same pathway by which acupuncture causes the release of endorphins, says Pomeranz. 'That endorphins are released by stimulating certain nerves in fibers anywhere in the body, that's understood. But there is a specific connection between your toe and your visual system is really bizarre. That's really mind-boggling.'" (Ibid. Dodd)
Dr. Cho's personal interest in the effects of acupuncture began with a back injury experienced during a visit to his native Korea. Cho was reluctant to try acupuncture. He is a professor of radiological sciences and psychiatry and human behavior at UCI as well as "a member of the highly respected National Academy of Science, the inventor of an early version of the Positron Emission Tomograph, or PET scan, and a pioneer of the MRI scanner, both of which have revolutionized our ability to see into the body. …"To him acupuncture was voodoo. But much to his surprise, the $40, 15-minute procedure worked." (Ibid. Gordon)
His interest in acupuncture launched, Dr. Cho undertook his preliminary study into the relationship between an acupoint and the visual cortex.
©2003 Kunz and Kunz