J Psychol. 1976 May; 93(1st Half): 113-20.

Psychological factors and clinical observations in acupuncture analgesia and pain abatement.

Zaretsky HH, Lee MH, Rubin M.

The present study attempted to (a) replicate findings on acupuncture reported in the Chinese literature; (b) investigate the effects of acupuncture in achieving analgesia and pain abatement; and (c) isolate the relevant psychological and/or physiological variables involved. Fifty volunteer men and women between 18 and 30 years of age were administered the acupuncture phase of this study for induction of analgesia and relief of pain in the oral cavity. A comparable group of 30 additional Ss were included in the study for comparison with the acupuncture group on several objective psychological measures. Forty of the acupuncture Ss were classified as totally successful. No significant differences between the acupuncture group and the comparable control group were obtained on the objective psychological measures, including measures of personality, suggestibility, anxiety, and attitudes. The results appear to indicate that psychological factors are minimally involved in obtaining analgesia and pain abatement with acupuncture techniques. Several interesting clinical observations were noted during the acupuncture procedure, including absence of discernable signs of analgesia, consistency of results, contralateral analgesic effect related to the location of acupuncture needles, etc. These results were discussed in terms of the possible role of physiological and psychological factors in acupuncture. Possible areas of future research were also discussed.