THERE is more to acupuncture than just the placebo effect, a brain imaging study suggests.
Clinical studies suggest that acupuncture can help treat a few conditions, such as nausea after operations, although for others, such as trying to stop smoking, it makes no difference (New Scientist, 26 May 2001, p 42). But no one is sure exactly how it achieves its effects. Acupuncture can stimulate the release of painkilling endorphins – but so can pretending to insert an acupuncture needle.
To find out if there is more to it, George Lewith at the University of Southampton, UK, and colleagues split…
