# Modulation effects of imagined acupuncture and no touch placebo acupuncture

> **NIH NIH R33** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2021 · $42,000

## Abstract

Summary
The goal of this collaborating/training supplement application is to 1) visit Dr. Takakura’s lab at Tokyo Ariake
University of Medical and Health Sciences to learn how to use the double-blinded placebo acupuncture needle
invented by his team; and 2) launch a collaborative project to investigate/compare the underlying brain
mechanism (using EEG), analgesic effects and acupuncture sensations (deqi sensation) of video-guided
acupuncture imagery treatment (VGAIT) developed in parent R61/R33 and of the double blinded no touch
placebo acupuncture needle developed by Dr. Takakura and colleagues.
Relevance to parent grant, goals of the BRCP and the mission of the participating NIH Institutes and
Centers The ongoing parent R61/R33 aims to comparatively investigate the modulation effects of VGAIT, a
VGAIT control condition, real acupuncture, and sham acupuncture in both healthy subjects and patients with
knee osteoarthritis (OA). In the parent grant, EEG data collection during and after VGAIT is NOT included.
Also, we have chosen the Streitberger placebo needle, a single-blinded placebo needle with a blunt tip that can
touch the skin, provide superficial mild stimulation and make physical contact with the surface of the skin. This
supplemental project will explore the brain activity (as measured by EEG) during and after VGAIT and no
touch, double-blinded placebo needles. Results obtained will further enhance our understanding of the
underlying mechanism of VGAIT and sham acupuncture.
This supplement will support the PI and his team member in their visit to Japan, where they will receive training
on how to use the double-blinded acupuncture needle and conduct collaborative research with Dr. Takakura,
the president of the Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion at Tokyo Ariake University of Medical and
Health Sciences. Dr. Takakura has extensive experience in both acupuncture research and clinical practice.
This application is a direct response to the purpose of the BRCP, aiming to promote scientist exchange,
training, and collaborations in basic, translational, and clinical research between neuroscientists from the U.S.
and Japan, as well as the goal of the NCCIH to enhance the research of alternative medicine, including
imagery, placebo, and acupuncture.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10254871
- **Project number:** 3R33AT009310-05S2
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** JIAN KONG
- **Activity code:** R33 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $42,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2016-09-15 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10254871

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10254871, Modulation effects of imagined acupuncture and no touch placebo acupuncture (3R33AT009310-05S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10254871. Licensed CC0.

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