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Research on the processes and effects of acupuncture is a growing subfield of medical research.

Since the mid-1970s, biochemical and neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that needling can alter central pain-processing pathways. Some scientists believe that acupuncture alleviates pain through its effects on neurotransmitters. According to Edzard Ernst, our understanding of how acupuncture might work has grown but is still far from complete.

History
Scientific research on acupuncture began in the second half of the twentieth century. In 1977, Ronald Melzack proposed that trigger points and acupuncture points for pain represent the same phenomenon and can be explained in terms of the same underlying neural mechanisms.

Physiological effects
Mechanical deformation of the skin by acupuncture needles results in the release of ATP and adenosine. The anti-nociceptive effect of acupuncture is mediated by the adenosine A1 receptor. Electro-acupuncture inhibits pain by reducing proinflammatory cytokines and releasing serotonin as well as norepinephrine, both of which decreases the phosphorylation of NMDA receptors.