國外有關注意力的研究主要是著重在注意力不足過動症(attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD)，這些研究指出按摩療法可以改善患者的症狀，可是以按摩療法來促進一般學生注意力的研究在文獻上卻不多見。注意力不足過動症與注意力不佳在本質上是相同，只是注意力不足過動症在程度上更為嚴重，故按摩療法亦可能對一般大學生的注意力有正面的幫助。本研究的目的為探討穴位按摩對一般大學生在視覺注意力的影響。以「快速系列視覺呈現」 (Rapid Serial Visual Presentation, RSVP)的電腦軟體來檢測41 名研究對象（男26 人，女15 人）的注意力變化情形。研究對象以隨機的方式分為按摩組（21人）和安慰劑組（20 人），按摩組成員於RSVP 檢測前測與後測間接受3 至5 分鐘的穴位按摩，而安慰劑組成員則於RSVP 檢測前測與後測間嗅聞乳液3 分鐘。資料分析方式是以配對樣本t 檢定來比較兩組在前測與後測間的差異及以獨立樣本t 檢定及共變數分析比較兩組的組間差異。本研究發現兩組在目標物答對題數和目標物反應時間兩方面均無顯著的組間差異，但是在將目標物答對題數加入為共變數以排除其影響後，兩組在目標物反應時間的前測與後測變化量(p=0.033)和標準化百分比改變量(p=0.050)呈顯著的差異。因此，穴位按摩在大學生之視覺注意力上有正面的效果，未來研究應加強測量工具作進一步的探討。 Majority of the research on attention has been focused on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Those research studies have pointed out that massage therapy can improve symptoms in the affected individuals. However, there has been scant literature on exploring the effects of massage on attention in healthy students. Poor attention and ADHD are similar in essence except a difference in severity. Therefore, acupoint massage may have favorable effects on improving attention in undergraduate students. The present study investigated the effects of acupoint massage on the visual attention on 41 undergraduate students (26 males and 15 females) using the ＂Rapid Serial Visual Presentation, RSVP＂ computer software. The participants were randomly divided into an experimental group (n=21) and a placebo control group (n=20). Participants in the experimental group received three to five minutes of acupoint massage and those in the placebo group were asked to inhale a placebo lotion for three minutes. Pre- and post-intervention RSVP measurements were obtained from both groups and were analyzed with independent t-test for pre/post differences and with analysis of covariance for between group differences. There were no significant differences between the experimental group and the placebo group in response accuracy and the response time. However, after adjusting for the number of correct target identification in the pre-intervention, there were significant differences between the two groups in the changes of response time (p=0.033) and standardized percentage changes of response time (p=0.050). Therefore, acupoint massage appeared to have favorable effects on improving visual attention in undergraduate students. Future studies should improve measurement of visual attention to further explore the effects of acupoint massage.
