Advances in neural mechanisms related to acupuncture sensation

Abstract

Pinching at specific areas of the human body will produce special sensations, such as soreness, numbness, heaviness and distention, which are collectively referred to as acupuncture sensation. The generation of acupuncture sensation, linked to a variety of receptors and nerve endings in different acupoint areas, induces nerve impulses that are transmitted to the central system through the spinal cord in different patterns. Sensory areas in the cerebral cortex are processed and transformed the impulses to form special sensations. This paper will systematically review the mechanisms of these sensations in different situations, and compare acupuncture sensations to review and analyze the mechanism of acupuncture effect.