Acupuncture at the Sanyinjiao point rapidly altered brain activity in regions linked to sensory, emotional, and autonomic processing in people with premenstrual syndrome.
Twenty participants with premenstrual syndrome underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging before and after electroacupuncture stimulation at the Sanyinjiao acupuncture point during the late luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. The researchers compared low-frequency spontaneous brain-signal fluctuations to identify activity changes associated with stimulation.
Following acupuncture, spontaneous activity increased in the brainstem, thalamus, insula, paracentral lobule, and cerebellum, while it decreased in visual and temporal brain regions, including the cuneus, precuneus, and inferior temporal cortex. These changes suggest that stimulation at Sanyinjiao may influence neural systems involved in bodily sensation, emotion, and regulation of internal physiological states in premenstrual syndrome.
