Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Harvard Medical School

Investigator Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Mass General Research Institute

Associate Professor of Anaesthesia Harvard Medical School

acupuncture; acupuncture points; acupuncture therapy; autonomic nervous system; brain mapping; carpal tunnel syndrome; fibromyalgia; nausea; neural pathways; pruritus; somatosensory cortex; tongue Our lab's research is aimed at elucidating the neural mechanisms underlying chronic pain and potential therapies such as acupuncture. Currently, we are using functional magnetic resonance imaging and magneto-encephalography to probe the changes in brain activation that are associated with the chronic pain state, and its treatment by different forms of acupuncture stimulation. We incorporate simultaneous autonomic nervous system (ANS) measurements to help inform fMRI data analyses. Projects include (1) cortical plasticity in carpal tunnel syndrome treated by acupuncture, (2) resting state functional connectivity in chronic pain treated by acupuncture, (3) fMRI investigation of the brain correlates of nausea, and (4) neuroimaging acupuncture effects on the central autonomic nervous system.