Specificity of Cranial Cutaneous Manipulations in Modulating Autonomic Nervous System Responses and Physiological Oscillations: A Controlled Study

Significant autonomic nervous system responses to a specific osteopathic intervention, the cranial vault hold (CVH), have recently been demonstrated in forehead skin blood volume changes, heart rate, and respiration frequencies. The specificity of the CVHintervention- related autonomic responses yet requires differentiation. Thus, we compared autonomic responses to CVH with responses to compression of the fourth ventricle (CV4) and two corresponding SHAM conditions.