In this work the visual

auditory

somatosensory evoked cortical potentialsas well as raw EEGs were observed in 31 rabbits either anesthetized with ure-thane or conscious.The effects of acupuncture on them were as follows:1)The main compon(?)nts of the evoked potentials were significantly depressed;2)The raw EEGs were desynchronized while the animals appeared to be slightlyactivated;3) Both the integral values of raw EEGs and the powers of lowerfrepuency waves (1-3.99Hz) were decreased and positively correlated well withthe amplitudes of the main components of the evoked potentials.Therefore

Itcould not be ruled out that the effects of acupuncture on the evoked potentialsare secondary to the changes of EEGs

and it is suggested that the inhibition ofevoked potentials during acupuncture does not necessarily mean that the cerebralcortex is in an inhibitory state.