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This is a posting from another listserv a couple weeks ago. Did anyone see this show mentioned? I wonder if acupuncture has also been 'officially' studied as to its effect on brain dopamine levels?.... WT ************ I was listening to NPR and heard a news story about the FDA removing the "experimental" label from acupuncture needles, clearing the way for far-sighted insurance companies to start--- or continue, in the case of California--- reimbursing for acupuncture treatments. Congrats to anyone on this list involved in pushing this through. My question has to do with the research side of this issue. One of the people interviewed on this radio program (from Georgetown University? Something like that?) was quoted as saying that there was evidence for changes in endogenous opiate and serotonin levels in the brain following acupuncture treatment. Is this really true, or was this interviewee speaking loosely? I know that changes in endorphin, enkephalin levels has been hypothesized a lot in this regard, but I wasn't aware that this had been rigorously established. How were endorphin/enkephalin/serotonin levels measured, and in what system? Many thanks for all replies, public or private.