Researching using MRI shows that acupuncture can positively affect brain functioning in depression.

Depression and brain functioning

In this research they studied people with depression who were getting acupuncture and did MRI’s on their brains. I’ll let the researchers tell you about it in their own words. “Our findings indicate that acupuncture-based interventions elicit a distinct pattern of neuroplastic remodeling, targeting key regions involved in emotion regulation and reward processing, which contrasts with the hippocampal-occipital effects of conventional treatments. The correlation between neuroplastic changes in affective circuits and clinical improvement supports a potential mechanism for acupuncture's efficacy in alleviating core depressive symptoms such as anhedonia and emotional dysregulation.” Interesting that acupuncture affects different areas of the brain than traditional treatments and that it helps remodel the brain circuits!

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