Fig. 2

Spatiotemporal changes in the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) induced by manual acupuncture stimulation to the auricular region. a–c Sample recordings of the rCBF and MAP in one rat. a Averaged signal over a selected period of 1 min. b Differential signal changes obtained by subtracting the baseline (−60 to 0 s) signal from the subsequent image (0–60 s). c The rCBF signal from the right frontal cortex and MAP. d Percentage changes in the signal in the contralateral frontal cortex and MAP averaged at every 10-s period when the unilateral auricular region was stimulated. Each column and vertical bar represents the mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM) (n = 18, obtained from 9 rats). In each rat, 2 trials were conducted. **p < 0.01; significantly different from the pre-stimulus control values (−10 to 0 s) using one-way repeated-measures ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s multiple comparison test