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Expectancy and belief modulate the neuronal substrates of pain treated by acupuncture

Expectancy and belief modulate the neuronal substrates of pain treated by acupuncture
Expectancy and belief modulate the neuronal substrates of pain treated by acupuncture
Both specific and non-specific factors may play a role in acupuncture therapy for pain. We explored the cerebral consequences of needling and expectation with real acupuncture, placebo acupuncture and skin-prick, using a single-blind, randomized crossover design with 14 patients suffering from painful osteoarthritis, who were scanned with positron emission tomography (PET). The three interventions, all of which were sub-optimal acupuncture treatment, did not modify the patient's pain. The insula ipsilateral to the site of needling was activated to a greater extent during real acupuncture than during the placebo intervention. Real acupuncture and placebo (with the same expectation of effect as real acupuncture) caused greater activation than skin prick (no expectation of a therapeutic effect) in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and midbrain. These results suggest that real acupuncture has a specific physiological effect and that patients' expectation and belief regarding a potentially beneficial treatment modulate activity in component areas of the reward system.
expectancy, belief, acupuncture, pet, pain
1161 -1167
Pariente, Jérémie
89cae1a6-a4df-4055-8c8e-a062b7a5aa47
White, Peter
f33829fd-24c9-4b44-a148-24eca9d52253
Frackowiak, Richard S.J.
ef0b44b9-37ae-404e-8b52-d55b1314b2a6
Lewith, George
0fc483fa-f17b-47c5-94d9-5c15e65a7625
Pariente, Jérémie
89cae1a6-a4df-4055-8c8e-a062b7a5aa47
White, Peter
f33829fd-24c9-4b44-a148-24eca9d52253
Frackowiak, Richard S.J.
ef0b44b9-37ae-404e-8b52-d55b1314b2a6
Lewith, George
0fc483fa-f17b-47c5-94d9-5c15e65a7625

Pariente, Jérémie, White, Peter, Frackowiak, Richard S.J. and Lewith, George (2005) Expectancy and belief modulate the neuronal substrates of pain treated by acupuncture. NeuroImage, 25 (4), 1161 -1167. (doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2005.01.016).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Both specific and non-specific factors may play a role in acupuncture therapy for pain. We explored the cerebral consequences of needling and expectation with real acupuncture, placebo acupuncture and skin-prick, using a single-blind, randomized crossover design with 14 patients suffering from painful osteoarthritis, who were scanned with positron emission tomography (PET). The three interventions, all of which were sub-optimal acupuncture treatment, did not modify the patient's pain. The insula ipsilateral to the site of needling was activated to a greater extent during real acupuncture than during the placebo intervention. Real acupuncture and placebo (with the same expectation of effect as real acupuncture) caused greater activation than skin prick (no expectation of a therapeutic effect) in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and midbrain. These results suggest that real acupuncture has a specific physiological effect and that patients' expectation and belief regarding a potentially beneficial treatment modulate activity in component areas of the reward system.

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More information

Published date: 1 April 2005
Keywords: expectancy, belief, acupuncture, pet, pain

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 24454
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/24454
PURE UUID: 795c1324-2b5d-4310-9510-3594ea9945f2

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Date deposited: 29 Mar 2006
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 06:55

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Contributors

Author: Jérémie Pariente
Author: Peter White
Author: Richard S.J. Frackowiak
Author: George Lewith

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