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The Science behind Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine

by Yong-Jun Lin

Traditional Chinese medicine has existed for more than two thousand years in east Asia. However, its underlying principles are not yet fully clear from modern scientific viewpoint. The same is also true for the theories of Tai-Chi, Qigong, and Yoga, which posits that there are certain kinds of energy flows and energy hubs in human body. Nevertheless, people who are practicing them still become healthier even though they do not really understand it. This raises the question to scientists-- if it works, what is the physical reality corresponding to these oriental metaphysical concepts?

One major mystery in traditional Chinese medicine is arguably acupuncture. It assumes that there are twelve meridians in human body and each meridian functionally corresponds to an organ. Furthermore, there is a kind of hypothesized energy closely linked to blood flow in the human body, which is termed "qi". It peaks in a single meridian for every two hours, in the order of lung, large intestine, stomach, spleen, heart, small intestine, bladder, kidney, pericardium, triple heater, gall bladder, and liver meridian. This constitutes a twenty-four hour cycle through all the organs and their related functions in the body. However, it was unclear what "qi" exactly is.

Fortunately, with the improvement in scientific concepts and measurements, testable theories begin to pop out. One such theory has recently been proposed by Dr. Wei-Kung Wang, an adjunct faculty of Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan. After obtained his doctoral degree in biophysics from Johns Hopkins University, he dedicated to unraveling the mystic principles of acupuncture with biomedical engineering perspectives. After invented a device to measure blood flow pulses and identified their frequency components, he reasoned that the meridian theory of acupuncture could be interpreted as a resonance theory of blood flow transmission. That is, the pericardium meridian corresponds to fundamental frequency. All other meridians map to distinct harmonics. This is how a single pulse realizes normal functioning in separate organs at the same time. Acupuncture in different meridians thus serves as modulating the amplitude of different frequency components of blood flow. His resonance theory also helps resolve several paradoxes in physiology, such as why there a 180 degree turn from ascending to descending aorta, and why the viscera receive blood from aorta with an angle that turns about 90 degree. Considering conservation of energy and momentum, all these appear to be fairly inefficient designs.

Dr. Wei-Kung Wang's resonance theory of blood flow transmission may impact on modern physiology and medicine. First, his lab is accumulating evidence not only by testing predictions of medication and acupunctural effects in ancient textbooks but also by doing simulation in an artificial circulation system built by pipes and pumps. Second, if his rediscovery of acupuncture is correct, then it may shed light on ontogeny, given that the circulation system requires development along with other systems. While Western medicine targets on specific causes of diseases, such as germs, viruses, or genetic mutations, traditional Chinese medicine is especially good at detecting imbalance of "qi" and calibrating that in different meridians. In other words, the knowledge of meridians and acupuncture could be an important yet missing piece in today's anatomy and physiology. After these principles are established, the upcoming challenge would be to explain how Chinese herbal medicines could affect specific meridians. In sum, it is really exciting that there is a new scientific theory that tries to bridge the gap between oriental and occidental worldviews. The most important of all for both sides of people, is of course to seek longevity and happier life.

Extensive readings:

1. Wang YYL, Chang SL, Wu YE, Hsu TL, and Wang WK. (1991). Resonance. The missing phenomenon in hemodynamics. Circulation Research, 69, 246-249. (http://circres.ahajournals.org/content/69/1/246.short)
2. Wang YYL, Sheu JI, and Wang WK. (1992). Alterations of pulse by Chinese Herb Medicine. American Journal of Chinese Medicine, 20, 181-190. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1519559)
3. Wang WK and Wang YYL. (1992). Biomedical engineering basis of traditional Chinese Medicine. Medical progress through technology, 1, 191-197. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1484515)
4. WK Wang, TL Hsu, HC Chang, and YYL Wang. (1995). Effect of Acupuncture at Tsu San Li (St-36) on the Pulse Spectrum. The American Journal of Chinese Medicine, 23, 121-130. (http://www.worldscinet.com/ajcm/23/2302/S0192415X9500016X.html)
5. 氣的樂章。王唯工（Wei Kung Wang）。 大塊文化，2002。（written in traditional Chinese; translated versions not yet available）。

About the author

Yong-Jun Lin is a first year PhD student in the Computation and Neural Systems program at Caltech. He studies visual perception and the origin of consciousness contents (qualia) in Shimojo psychophysics laboratory. He is also interested in integrating viewpoints from Eastern and Western culture.