Auriculopuncture as a regulating intervention of salivary flow

Abstract

One of the assumptions of the application of acupuncture, when used based on the principles of traditional Chinese medicine, is that it favors the recovery of homeostasis of organic functions. Besides, experimental data showed that acupuncture produces opposite effects on the same variable. Furthermore, the effect of acupuncture depends on the initial physiological or pathophysiological state of the patient or experimental subject. We discuss the effect of ear acupuncture on unstimulated salivary flow and present a hypothetical model that suggests a possible bidirectional relationship between the effect of ear acupuncture on basal salivary flow. We hypothesize that the directionality of the effect of auriculopuncture on salivary flow depends on the basal state of salivation and allows reaching a state of equilibrium of this physiological function. The hypothesis predicts that ear acupuncture as a treatment that could facilitate the balance and modulation of a physiological phenomenon such as salivation in healthy subjects, and phase transitions, could play an essential role in regulating salivary flow homeostasis. Future research is needed to empirically evaluate the fullness of this bidirectional effect model of both ear acupuncture and body acupuncture. If such work demonstrates usefulness and predictive validity, this model will have significant implications for clinicians and experimental acupuncture.