疾病状态下穴位由沉寂到激活，出现“有诸内者，必形诸外”的敏化现象。项目组在长期开展穴位特异性和穴位敏化研究取得系列成果的基础上，围绕穴位敏化动态过程，在中医针灸理论指导下，提出“疾病状态下，穴位从沉寂到激活的转变具有普遍性、多样性和规律性；有效利用穴位敏化，能够拓展针灸临床应用范围；敏化穴位微理化环境的改变和中枢敏化神经调控是穴位敏化的重要基础和机能调控”工作假说；运用多学科方法和前沿技术，从寻找穴位敏化中医发展脉络及其临床表现规律入手，重点解决以下科学问题：穴位敏化的中医理论源流和基础；穴位敏化的临床表现规律和动态特征；穴位敏化的实时、动态客观显像；敏化穴位微理化环境的物质基础；穴位敏化的神经调控机制；穴位不同功能态在针灸临床疾病诊断、预防、治疗和预后领域的意义和价值。最终实现穴位敏化源自经典、基于临床、肯定现象、明确规律、揭示本质、回归临床的研究目标，具有重要的科学意义和临床指导价值。

Acupoints will be activated from silence when diseases strike, which is called acupoint sensitization that is described as disease evils attacking inside leads to symptoms happen outside. Our team performed large amounts of studies on specificity of acupoint function and acupoint sensitization and harvested fruitful achievements. Therefore, on the basis of traditional acupuncture theories, we first raise the hypothesis that the process of acupoint activation would be prevalent and diverse with regularity. We secondly raise that effectively using acupoint sensitization would be able to enlarge the scope of acupuncture application. Thirdly, we raise that microenvironment changes of the acupoint and sensitization of central nervous system would be the basic mechanism of acupoint sensitization. To test these hypotheses, we will use multidisciplinary methods and cutting-edge techniques to explore the clinical regularity of acupoint sensitization and its development in history of traditional Chinese medicine. Five key scientific questions will be answered: clinical regularity and activation process of the acupoint sensitization; objective, real-time and active imaging; mechanism of microenvironment changes; mechanism of the regulation of the nervous system and clinical value in diagnosis, prevention, treatment and prognosis. We will achieve the aims: the classic nature of acupoint sensitization, a basis of clinical practice, confirmation of the phenomenon, ensuring the regularity, exploring the mechanism and translating to clinical practice.