An fMRI study by Chinese authors has found that acupuncture at Yanglingquan GB-34 (a commonly used acupuncture point), can enhance functional connectivity in the brain’s default mode network (DMN) in stroke patients. The DMN is a network of brain areas that is normally active during rest and which is involved in emotion processing and self-referential mental activity. Its functional connectivity has been shown to be decreased in stroke and other neurodegenerative diseases. Eight stable ischemic stroke patients and ten healthy subjects were recruited to undergo resting state fMRI scanning before and after acupuncture. Amongst the stroke patients acupuncture at Yanglingquan GB-34 resulted in increased functional connectivity between two important parts of the DMN - the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Both PCC and ACC are regarded as core regions involved in memory and cognitive processing and also serve as important interaction hubs between the DMN and sensorimotor network (SMN). The authors conclude that the modulatory effects of acupuncture on the DMN of stroke patients could therefore relate to the recovery of cognitive ability and motor function. (Acupuncture modulates the functional connectivity of the default mode network in stroke. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2014;2014:765413).
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24734113
Another group of Chinese scientists, who compared fMRI brain scans of 14 Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients with 14 healthy elderly controls, have shown that acupuncture at Taichong LIV-3 and Hegu L.I.-4 can enhance hippocampal connectivity in AD patients. The hippocampus, which plays a crucial role in memory processes, is one of the earliest brain regions to be affected by AD and the researchers speculate that enhanced hippocampal connectivity may increase information flow, resulting in improvement of cognitive function. Acupuncture may also strengthen cooperation between brain regions in AD patients, resulting in the use of additional neural resources which compensate for memory losses due to the disease. (Acupuncture modulates resting state hippocampal functional connectivity in Alzheimer disease. PLoS One. 2014 Mar 6;9(3):e91160).