Pain is one of the most important sensations in daily life, and the traditional Chinese medicine such as acupuncture has shown great potential in pain relief. The principle research of acupuncture anesthesia has been the focus of modern science. In this paper the noninvasive brain imaging technique fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) was used. Eight volunteers were enrolled and received pain stimulation, and the brain response under TEAS (transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation)

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... and manual needle stimulation were observed. The research finds pain has specific sensation region and the acupuncture anesthesia is realized through modulating the corresponding brain function region, but the manual needle has wider brain response region than TEAS.