Acupuncture Improves Brain Connectivity in Bell’s Palsy

Acupuncture treatment for Bell's palsy.
Researchers using functional MRI scanning have found that acupuncture induces significant connectivity changes in the brains of patients recovering from Bell’s palsy. Previous studies have demonstrated disruption to connectivity between the somatosensory area and other brain regions.

Brain activity was studied in 20 Bell’s palsy patients (aged 19 to 70), and also in 28 healthy subjects (aged 23 to 54). All were given fMRI scans before and after acupuncture at the point Hegu which is frequently included by acupuncturists treating this condition. Acupuncture was found to significantly increase connectivity in the primary somatosensory area, in patients still recovering from Bell’s palsy. Interestingly, there were no such changes in the already-recovered and in the healthy group. The researchers conclude that their findings may begin to shed light on the underlying mechanisms by which acupuncture treats Bell’s palsy.

(Acupuncture-induced changes in functional connectivity of the primary somatosensory cortex varied with pathological stages of Bell’s palsy. NeuroReport 1 October 2014.)

Author: Robin Costello

I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training. I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.