 2. Design: type of study design and justification The study is a randomised control trial looking at an acupuncture point utilised for anxiety reduction Yintang, and a controls. The ratio of intervention to controls is 1:1. After advice for experts in acupuncture, the investigators are not including a placebo acupuncture intervention or sham acupuncture. This is because it is increasingly recognised that any form of acupuncture or acupressure can have central effects and that sham acupuncture is actually impossible to undertake. Pilot study data awaiting publication done in the investigators institution demonstrated a mean standard deviation STAI score in neurosurgical patients of 8.86 4.4. Previous data have suggested that acupuncture may reduce anxiety levels by 25-37. Assuming a p 0.05 and power 0.9, in order to demonstrate a 30 reduction in STAI scores, the investigators will need 58 patients in each group. Assuming a 10 dropout rate, the investigators aim to recruit 64 patients in each group 128 in total. The investigators have shown that anxiety levels are not related to gender or site of surgery cranial vs. spinal and therefore will not stratify the groups. The investigators will undertake block randomisation to try and minimise any learning effects by the acupuncturist. 