Auricular acupuncture is a diagnostic and treatment system based on normalizing the body's dysfunction through stimulation of points on the ear. Resulting amelioration of pain and illness is believed to be through the reticular formation and the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

​

Ear acupuncture, is an acupuncture technique similar to reflexology, and is speculated that the technique works because groups of pluripotent cells contain information from the whole organism and create regional organization centers representing different parts of the body, through recruitment of more cortex cells dedicated to specific areas of the body. Thus stimulation of a reflex point in the ear can relieve symptoms of distant pathology with a reliable duration.