Developing Biomarkers for Fibromyalgia

The hypothesis of this study is that biological markers are present in the body that are
good indicators of chronic pain. Eligible participants will be assessed at baseline and
after receiving a series of acupuncture or "sham" acupuncture (something that resembles, but
is not, active acupuncture) sessions. If the subject qualifies for the investigators'
research and are subsequently enrolled in this study, they will be randomly assigned (like
the flip of a coin) to one of these two groups. Acupuncture, as previously shown by this
group, leads to improvements in both clinical and evoked pain associated with fibromyalgia.
The study involves two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans, one at the beginning
and one at the end of the study. Another optional portion of the study would involve 2 PET
(positron emission tomography) scans of the subject's brain, one at the beginning and one at
the end of the study; this type of scan allows us to get more specific information about the
subject's brain function during an acupuncture session.