CONTENTS -- Principal Contributors -- Foreword -- Introduction -- MECHANISMS -- CLINICAL TRIALS -- Part I Scientific Explanations for Acupuncture -- Chapter 1 Mechanisms of Acupuncture in Pain: A Physiological Perspective in a Clinical Context Thomas Lundeberg -- THE EFFECTS OF ACUPUNCTURE ON PAIN -- BACKGROUND -- PAIN AND ACUPUNCTURE -- Pain Classification -- PHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF ACUPUNCTURE -- Overview -- POSSIBLE MECHANISMS IN THE ALLEVIATION OF PAIN FOLLOWING ACUPUNCTURE -- Overview -- A DEEPER LOOK INTO SOME OF THE POSSIBLE ANALGESIC EFFECTS OF ACUPUNCTURE -- Peripheral Effects - Role of Adenosine -- Spinal and Supraspinal Effects - Frequency Dependent Mechanisms -- Changes in Brain Activity Following Acupuncture -- POSSIBLE CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS -- SUMMARY -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 2 Explanatory Nature, Models, Needs and Requirements for Testing Them Stephen Birch -- INTRODUCTION -- EXPLANATORY MODELS -- TEAM THEORIES -- THE CHALLENGES OF TBSA EXPLANATORY MODELS -- The Explanatory RCT -- Basic Science of TBSAs -- The Need for a Broader View of TBSAs -- CONCLUSIONS -- APPENDIX 1 -- REFERENCES -- ENDNOTES -- Chapter 3 The Ontological Status of Meridians Hong Hai -- AN INTERPRETATION OF THE MERIDIANS -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 4 Modern Scientific Explanation of Traditional Acupuncture Theory Ching-Liang Hsieh -- INTRODUCTION -- 1. Does the meridian system link specific viscera and bowels internally and connect to the extremities and joints externally? -- 2. Does the circulation of qi and blood in the meridian system link together as yin and yang akin to a circle with no end? Is acupuncture at a point locating the target meridian effective? Is the relationship between yin and yang independent and transform each other? -- 3. How does acupuncture modulate the balance between yin and yang in the human body?.

4. Does acupuncture stimulation induce differential effects between yin and yang in the human body? -- 5. Has the specificity of acupoint in physiological function? -- 6. Does needle manipulation affect the efficacy of points? -- 7. What is the size or scope of a point? -- 8. Does point combination yield a greater efficacy of acupuncture? -- 9. Concluding remarks -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 5 Cognitive Neuroscience, Acupuncture, and Pain Treatment. Does a Sting Always Hurt? K. Theodoratou -- INTRODUCTION -- WHAT IS PAIN -- WHAT IS PERCEPTION -- PAIN AND ACUPUNCTURE -- PAIN AND PERCEPTION -- ACUPUNCTURE AND PERCEPTION -- NEURAL NETWORK LEARNING -- CONCLUSION -- REFERENCES -- Part II Clinical Trials and Placebo Effects -- Chapter 6 Frequent Weaknesses in Acupuncture Trials Edzard Ernst -- RISK OF BIAS AND CONFOUNDING -- RESEARCH QUESTION -- REPORTING OF ACUPUNCTURE TRIALS -- FUNDING -- FINAL COMMENT -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 7 The Complexities Inherent in Placebo-Controlled Acupuncture Studies Lixing Lao, Lizhen Wang and Ruixin Zhang -- ACUPUNCTURE HAS GAINED POPULARITY AROUND THE WORLD IN RECENT YEARS -- THE RESULTS OF CLINICAL RESEARCH ARE STILL CONTROVERSIAL -- WHAT DO THESE CLINICAL TRIALS TELL US? -- WHAT REALLY HAPPENS AS A RESULT OF ACUPUNCTURE TREATMENT? -- WAITING LIST CONTROL -- NON-INSERTION SHAM CONTROL -- NEEDLE INSERTION SHAM CONTROL -- DIFFERENT CONTROLS YIELDS DIFFERENT RESULTS -- CONCLUSION -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 8 Research Methodology in Acupuncture Tat-Leang Lee and Zhen Zheng -- INTRODUCTION -- EFFICACY RESEARCH -- EFFICACY RESEARCH ON CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN -- PLACEBO AND PLACEBO EFFECTS -- SHAM ACUPUNCTURE INTERVENTIONS ARE PHYSIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE -- STRENGTH AND WEAKNESSES OF ACUPUNCTURE EFFICACY RESEARCH -- EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH -- EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH ON CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN.

RESEARCH ON INTERVENTIONAL THERAPIES FOR PAIN MANAGEMENT IN ORTHODOX MEDICINE -- CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY OF THE CURRENT STATUS OF ACUPUNCTURE AND CLBP -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 9 The Use of Placebos in Acupuncture Trials Dylan Evans -- INTRODUCTION -- EVIDENCE FOR THE PLACEBO EFFECT -- PLACEBO ACUPUNCTURE AND BLINDING -- ACUPUNCTURE TRIALS AND THE DUHEM-QUINE PROBLEM -- CONCLUSION -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 10 Improving the Quality of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) in Acupuncture Zhaoxiang Bian, Chungwah Cheng, Linda Chan, Mandy Cheung, Min Li and Zhixiu Lin -- INTRODUCTION -- MATERIALS AND METHOD -- Search Strategy -- Assessment of Quality of Trials -- Data Extraction and Analysis -- RESULTS -- Literature Search -- Reporting Quality -- Title and abstract -- Introduction -- Objectives -- Methods-Participants -- Methods-Intervention -- Sample Size, Randomization, Blinding and Statistical Methods -- Results and Outcomes -- Discussion -- DESIGN OF CONTROL GROUP -- Type 1: Superficial Needling on Acupuncture Point -- Type 2: Non-Specific Location Needling Control -- Type 3. Non-Insert Needling Control -- Type 4: Mock Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) Control -- DISCUSSION -- LIMITATIONS -- CONCLUSION -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 11 Acupuncture Treatment for Addiction Ping-Chung Leung, Ellie S. Y. Pang, Lang Zhang, and Eliza L. Y. Wong -- ACUPUNCTURE FOR HEROIN ADDICTION -- Review on Clinical Reports about the Use of Acupuncture for Heroine/Opium Addicts -- ACUPRESSURE FOR QUITTING CIGARETTE SMOKING -- Review on Clinical Reports about Acupuncture/Acupressure for Quitting Smoking -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 12 Dense Cranial Electroacupuncture Stimulation for Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Rationale and Clinical Application Zhang-Jin Zhang and Sui-Cheung Man -- INTRODUCTION -- Metaphysical Concepts of Acupoint and Meridian in TCM.

"Specific" and "Nonspecifi c" Properties of Acupoints -- NEURAL ACUPUNCTURE UNIT (NAU) -- The Definition and Its Differentiation from Acupoint -- NAU Compositions -- Implications and Future Directions of NAU -- Scientific rationale for traditional needling techniques -- Multiple central neural pathways -- Synergistic effects of multiacupoints -- Explanations to effects of sham acupuncture -- Discoveries on objective measures of acupuncture 'dosage' -- DENSE CRANIAL ELECTROACUPUNCTURE STIMULATION -- DCEAS for Major Depressive Disorder23 -- Pilot Trial of DCEAS for Postpartum Depression24 -- DCEAS for OCD - A Pilot Waitlist-Controlled Trial19 -- DCEAS for Post-Stroke Depression (Recruiting) -- A Neuroimaging Study on DCEAS (Recruiting) -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- REFERENCES.