Neurophysiological correlates of acupuncture: limbic and thalamic responses to analgesic studies in non-human primates.

Single unit activity from chronically implanted squirrel monkeys was analyzed to evaluate the effect of acupuncture stimulation on limbic and thalamic structures associated with pain. Extracellular recordings and computer-generated interspike interval histograms (ISIH) were obtained from n. parafasicularis and n. ventralis posteromedialis of the thalamus and the laternal septum, basal amygdala and anterior cigulate cortex. Thalamic activity remained unchanged while limibc units demonstrated statistically significant alterations in both cell firing rate and the ISIH in response to acupuncture stimulation. Although pain thresholds in response to tooth pulp stimulation were increased by morphine (37-51% +/- 2.1), acupuncture proved totally ineffective. This may be interpreted as a selective response to acupuncture in CNS structures primarily concerned with the affective component of pain.