Modulatory effects of acupuncture on brain networks in mild cognitive impairment patients

• Published in: Neural regeneration research Vol. 12; no. 2; pp. 250 - 258
• Main Authors: Tan, Ting-Ting, Wang, Dan, Huang, Ju-Ke, Zhou, Xiao-Mei, Yuan, Xu, Liang, Jiu-Ping, Yin, Liang, Xie, Hong-Liang, Jia, Xin-Yan, Shi, Jiao, Wang, Fang, Yang, Hao-Bo, Chen, Shang-Jie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: India Medknow Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd 01.02.2017; Medknow Publications & Media Pvt. Ltd; Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Shenzhen Baoan Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China%Shenzhen Baoan Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China%Department of Radiology, Shenzhen Baoan Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China%Department of Neurology, Shenzhen Baoan Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China%Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China; Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd; Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
• Subjects: Acupuncture; Analysis; Chinese medicine; Cognition; Cognition & reasoning; Health aspects; Magnetic resonance imaging; nerve regeneration; mild cognitive impairment; Alzheimer′s disease; neuroimaging; resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging; brain network; acupuncture; Tiaoshen Yizhi; neural regeneration; 丘脑; 功能磁共振成像; 患者; 网络; 认知障碍; 调节作用; 针刺; 额叶皮层; China; resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging; acupuncture; Tiaoshen Yizhi; neural regeneration; mild cognitive impairment; nerve regeneration; Alzheimer's disease; brain network; neuroimaging; Alzheimer’s disease
• ISSN: 1673-5374; 1876-7958
• DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.200808

Functional magnetic resonance imaging has been widely used to investigate the effects of acupuncture on neural activity. However, most functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have focused on acute changes in brain activation induced by acupuncture. Thus, the time course of the therapeutic effects of acupuncture remains unclear. In this study, 32 patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment were randomly divided into two groups, where they received either Tiaoshen Yizhi acupuncture or sham acupoint acupuncture. The needles were either twirled at Tiaoshen Yizhi acupoints, including Sishencong（EX-HN1）, Yintang（EX-HN3）, Neiguan（PC6）, Taixi（KI3）, Fenglong（ST40）, and Taichong（LR3）, or at related sham acupoints at a depth of approximately 15 mm, an angle of ± 60°, and a rate of approximately 120 times per minute. Acupuncture was conducted for 4 consecutive weeks, five times per week, on weekdays. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging indicated that connections between cognition-related regions such as the insula, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, thalamus, inferior parietal lobule, and anterior cingulate cortex increased after acupuncture at Tiaoshen Yizhi acupoints. The insula, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus acted as central brain hubs. Patients in the Tiaoshen Yizhi group exhibited improved cognitive performance after acupuncture. In the sham acupoint acupuncture group, connections between brain regions were dispersed, and we found no differences in cognitive function following the treatment. These results indicate that acupuncture at Tiaoshen Yizhi acupoints can regulate brain networks by increasing connectivity between cognition-related regions, thereby improving cognitive function in patients with mild cognitive impairment.