Acupuncture increases blood flow to the brain without raising arterial blood pressure or pulse rate. A new study, recently published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine  reports that  using acupuncture to increase blood flow to the brain has good implications for the treatment of  dizziness, hypertension, hypotension, deficient memory, ear ringing (tinnitus), headaches, diminished vision, windstroke, and syncope.  The researchers used acupoint GV20 (DU20, Hundred Meetings, Baihui) and measured increases in blood flow velocity.  This may explain, in part, how acupuncture, specifically GV 20, is effective in reducing headaches.  The study was small, so more work needs to be done but it provides hope for the myriad of head related problems.

Hyung-sik Byeon, Sang-kwan Moon, Seong-uk Park, Woo-sang Jung, Jung-mi Park, Chang-nam Ko, Ki-ho Cho, Young-suk Kim and Hyung-sup Bae. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. March 2011, 17(3): 219-224.