Modulation of functional activity and connectivity by acupuncture in patients with Alzheimer disease as measured by resting-state fMRI

作者：Weimin Zheng, Zhuang-zhi Su, Xingyun Liu, Hao Zhang, Ying Han, Haiqing Song, Jie Lu, Kuncheng Li, Zhi­qun Wang · 发表于：PLoS ONE · 年份：2018 · DOI：10.1371/journal.pone.0196933 · 被引用次数：93 · 研究领域：Functional Brain Connectivity Studies、Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications、Biofield Effects and Biophysics

Acupuncture has been used in the therapy of Alzheimer disease (AD); however, its neural mechanisms are still unclear. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of acupuncture on the functional connectivity in AD by using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Twenty-eight subjects (14 AD and 14 normal controls) participated in this study. The rs-fMRI data were acquired before and after acupuncture stimulation at the acupoints of Tai chong (Liv3) and Hegu (LI4). During the baseline resting state, by using the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF), we found a significantly decreased or increased ALFF in the AD patients relative to the controls. These regions were located in the right superior frontal gyrus (SFG), left postcentral gyrus, subgenual cingulate cortex (SCC), right middle cingulate cortex (MCC), right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), right hippocampus and the right inferior temporal gyrus (ITG). Then, we selected these brain regions as seeds to investigate whether regional activity and functional connectivity could be modulated by acupuncture in the AD patients. When compared to the pre-acupuncture stage, several of the above regions showed an increased or decreased ALFF after acupuncture in the AD patients. In addition, the functional connectivity between the hippocampus and the precentral gyrus showed enhancement after acupuncture in the AD patients. Finally, there were close correlations between the functional activity, connectiv...