Acupuncture for Depression: Working with the Cerebellum

Acupuncture for depression

What we call depression can feel very different from one person to the next. In the book, “Dragon Rises and Red Bird Flies: Psychology & Chinese Medicine,” author Leon Hammer, MD lists 13 different types of depression, each with their own diagnosis. It’s important to get a correct differential diagnosis in order to get benefit from treatment. Specifically, acupuncture for depression will look different depending on the pattern being treated. Some patients will benefit from e-stim, while others may not. Some might need many needles, while others might need as few needles as possible.

Recently, I had a patient in my office for whom the auricular point “Cerebellum” was particularly active. We were treating his depression and anxiety, in his feeling overwhelmed by all the things he had going on and had to manage in life. I was curious for sure, as I knew the cerebellum was important for physical balance; but what did it have to do with emotions?

What is the cerebellum?

The cerebellum along with the brainstem comprise the “reptilian brain” in us humans. This is the oldest part of the brain; it is associated with our body’s survival and instinct. When we get in fight-flight-freeze mode, we can thank this part of our brain.

What does the cerebellum do?

The cerebellum coordinates voluntary movement as it receives information from the sensory systems, spinal cord, and other parts of the brain. Interestingly, “[a]lthough the cerebellum accounts for approximately 10% of the brain’s volume, it contains over 50% of the total number of neurons in the brain.” The cerebellum helps:

• maintain balance and posture
• coordination
• motor learning
• cognitive functions, such as language

The cerebellum and emotion

Subjective experience

In a very small 2006 study, researchers found, “patients with cerebellar damage showed impairment in the subjective experience of pleasant feelings in response to happiness-evoking stimuli.” For those of you quite knowledgeable in Western medicine, you might find it interesting to learn more about seratonin and the cerebellum.

Motivation

In his 2013 handbook on the Cerebellum and Cerebellar Disorders, Schutter writes, “Damage to cerebellar structures can lead to marked personality changes, emotion dysregulation and blunting of affect and structural abnormalities of the cerebellum have been reported in several psychopathological conditions.” He explains the cerebellum’s affect on motivation, emotion and action likely stem from its “rich connections” to the limbic system (associated with our emotions and memories) and cerebral cortex.

Regulation

In 2005, researchers Schutter and van Honk concluded, “an increasing body of empirical evidence indicates that the cerebellum may be involved in emotion regulation. Both functional and structural abnormalities of the cerebellum have been demonstrated in emotional disorders, including depression and schizophrenia.”

Auricular acupuncture for depression

What I love about auricular acupuncture is how specific we can get. Through auricular maps designed by the Chinese, French and Germans, we can find points to treat the cerebellum or other brain and/or organ parts in the body. While the image I’ve posted here (see: ear) has the cerebellum point on the front, the point I used in my treatment was an alternate location found on the back of the ear.

There is no specific ‘point prescription’ for depression; for as I mentioned, the illness can take many forms. Auricular acupuncture for depression may include the points I’ve mapped here; it may also include many other, different points. The most important is that you work with a Chinese medicine practitioner in receiving a proper differential diagnosis.

Studies Cited

• The Cerebellum and Emotional Experience
• The cerebellum on the rise in human emotion.
• Serotonin, presynaptic 5-HT₃ receptors and synaptic plasticity in the developing cerebellum