Abstract
The relationship between the decrease in heart rate due to acupuncture stimulation and the autonomic nervous system was studied based on Tanaka et al.'s test of the autonomic nervous functions. A sufficient quantity of atropine sulfate and propranolol hydrochloride was administered to human subjects in order to study the effects of these medicines on the response of heart rate to acupuncture stimulation. A decrease in heart rate due to acupuncture stimulation was proved to occur through both the vagal nerve and sympathetic β-receptor system. The results of the experiments in human subjects suggested that acupuncture stimulation infuluences visceral effector function through the autonomic nervous system.
