The participation of the hypothalamus in the action mechanisms and therapeutic effects of acupuncture: a narrative review

The hypothalamus controls homeostasis through the regulation of the autonomic and endocrine nervous system. Dysregulation of the hypothalamus leads to the emergence of a wide variety of disorders that can profoundly impact people's physical and mental health. Several studies indicate that one of the mechanisms of action of acupuncture in some diseases occurs through the modulation of hypothalamic activity. Therefore, the aim of this article is to present and discuss the therapeutic effect of acupuncture through hypothalamic modulation. The present review focuses on discussing basic research studies that evaluated the effect of acupuncture on hypothalamic activity, analyzing biological variables, such as modulation of neurotransmitters, neurohormones and blood pressure. The selection of articles was made in the Pubmed, ScienceDirect, and Scielo databases until February 2024. The studies found were on obesity, insomnia and systemic arterial hypertension, which demonstrated that acupuncture significantly decreases symptoms by modulating hypothalamic activity. According to the reviewed data, it can be concluded that the mechanisms of action of acupuncture are related, at least in part for the conditions analyzed, to its modulating effect on the hypothalamus. However, more studies should be done to clarify the involvement of the hypothalamus in the effect of acupuncture in other diseases.