The effect of acupuncture on working memory and anxiety. 


Author: Bussell J.

Affiliation: Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China; National University of Health Sciences, Lombard, IL, USA. Electronic address: JasonBussell@gmail.com. 
Conference/Journal: J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 
Date published: 2013 Oct
Other:
 Volume ID: 6   ,  Issue ID: 5   ,  Pages: 241-6   ,  Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.jams.2012.12.006.   ,  Word Count: 178  
    

OBJECTIVE:

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether acupuncture can improve memory and reduce anxiety.

DESIGN, SETTING AND SUBJECTS:

A two-group, randomized, single-blind study involving 90 undergraduate university students was conducted from January to December of 2011.

INTERVENTIONS:

Subjects completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) form Y-1 (State Anxiety, SA) and Y-2 (Trait Anxiety, TA). Then, each subject lay on a treatment table for 20 minutes. The acupuncture group had needles inserted into select acupoints; control subjects did not. Subjects then completed the STAI form Y-1 again, after which they completed the Automated Operation Span Task (AOSPAN) - a computerized test of working memory.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:

Performance on the AOSPAN and the STAI scores were the main measures of the outcomes.

RESULTS:

The acupuncture group scored 9.5% higher than the control group on the AOSPAN Total Correct Score (65.39 vs. 59.9, p=0.0134), and committed 36% fewer math errors (2.68 vs. 4.22, p=0.0153). Acupuncture subjects also reported lower SA after intervention than control subjects (26.14 vs. 29.63, p=0.0146).

Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.

KEYWORDS:

acupuncture, anxiety, automated operation span task, state-trait anxiety inventory, working memory



PMID: 24139461