Connectivity Study of the Neuromechanism of Acute Acupuncture Needling during fMRI in “Overweight” Subjects

Figure 5

Changes in functional connectivity (FC) with the putamen (PUT) after acupuncture minus before acupuncture (ACU) in relation to delta glucose (GLU) correlation scores after ACU minus before ACU. Increased hypothalamus-putamen (L = left; R = right) functional connectivity (HYP-PUT FC) after acupuncture (after ACU) was positively correlated with ACU-induced change in GLU suggesting that increased dopamine modulation during ACU was probably associated with increased poststimulation limbic system and spinothalamic tract connectivity (left putamen , ; right putamen , ).