The objectification of"Deqi"of acupuncture is a hot topic in acupuncture research at present

and functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI)is one of the most frequently-used techniques for revealing its brain responses.We searched literature about"Deqi"from PubMed in recent 10 years by using key words"Deqi""acupuncture sensation""needling sensation"and fMRI

trying to expound the central mechanism of"Deqi"and to put forward our understandings.Acupuncture"Deqi"evoked deactivation of the limbic-paralimbic-neocortical network(LPNN)/default mode network(DMN)

including medial prefrontal cortex(frontal pole

anterior cingulate)

temporal lobe(amygdala

hippocampus

parahippocampus gyrus

temporal pole)

and apparent activation of brain regions as the somatosensory cortex

thalamic-somatosensory area-insular lobe

orbitofrontal cortex

etc.

which may enhance the connectivity of brain networks and function in analgesia

anti-anxiety

anti-depression

etc.

but the activated and deactivated brain regions are different from study to study possibly due to the stimulated different acupoints

subjects' psychophysical conditions

scanning parameters

image acquiring sequences

etc.It is recommended that the coming studies should pay more attention to the influence of acupuncture "Deqi"on brain functions in subjects suffering from diseases

the brain response characteristics of the longer post-effects and the accumulated effects of acupuncture treatment.