Can Taichi reshape the brain? A brain morphometry study.

Although research has provided abundant evidence for Taichi-induced improvements in psychological and physiological well-being, little is known about possible links to brain structure of Taichi practice. Using high-resolution MRI of 22 Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) practitioners and 18 controls matched for ag...

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Main Authors: Gao-Xia Wei, Ting Xu, Feng-Mei Fan, Hao-Ming Dong, Li-Li Jiang, Hui-Jie Li, Zhi Yang, Jing Luo, Xi-Nian Zuo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0061038&type=printable
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author Gao-Xia Wei
Ting Xu
Feng-Mei Fan
Hao-Ming Dong
Li-Li Jiang
Hui-Jie Li
Zhi Yang
Jing Luo
Xi-Nian Zuo
author_facet Gao-Xia Wei
Ting Xu
Feng-Mei Fan
Hao-Ming Dong
Li-Li Jiang
Hui-Jie Li
Zhi Yang
Jing Luo
Xi-Nian Zuo
author_sort Gao-Xia Wei
collection DOAJ
description Although research has provided abundant evidence for Taichi-induced improvements in psychological and physiological well-being, little is known about possible links to brain structure of Taichi practice. Using high-resolution MRI of 22 Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) practitioners and 18 controls matched for age, sex and education, we set out to examine the underlying anatomical correlates of long-term Taichi practice at two different levels of regional specificity. For this purpose, parcel-wise and vertex-wise analyses were employed to quantify the difference between TCC practitioners and the controls based on cortical surface reconstruction. We also adopted the Attention Network Test (ANT) to explore the effect of TCC on executive control. TCC practitioners, compared with controls, showed significantly thicker cortex in precentral gyrus, insula sulcus and middle frontal sulcus in the right hemisphere and superior temporal gyrus and medial occipito-temporal sulcus and lingual sulcus in the left hemisphere. Moreover, we found that thicker cortex in left medial occipito-temporal sulcus and lingual sulcus was associated with greater intensity of TCC practice. These findings indicate that long-term TCC practice could induce regional structural change and also suggest TCC might share similar patterns of neural correlates with meditation and aerobic exercise.
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spelling doaj-art-25971f8a3f6d4c39a14fafe3dc26ee6a2025-08-20T03:13:45ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0184e6103810.1371/journal.pone.0061038Can Taichi reshape the brain? A brain morphometry study.Gao-Xia WeiTing XuFeng-Mei FanHao-Ming DongLi-Li JiangHui-Jie LiZhi YangJing LuoXi-Nian ZuoAlthough research has provided abundant evidence for Taichi-induced improvements in psychological and physiological well-being, little is known about possible links to brain structure of Taichi practice. Using high-resolution MRI of 22 Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) practitioners and 18 controls matched for age, sex and education, we set out to examine the underlying anatomical correlates of long-term Taichi practice at two different levels of regional specificity. For this purpose, parcel-wise and vertex-wise analyses were employed to quantify the difference between TCC practitioners and the controls based on cortical surface reconstruction. We also adopted the Attention Network Test (ANT) to explore the effect of TCC on executive control. TCC practitioners, compared with controls, showed significantly thicker cortex in precentral gyrus, insula sulcus and middle frontal sulcus in the right hemisphere and superior temporal gyrus and medial occipito-temporal sulcus and lingual sulcus in the left hemisphere. Moreover, we found that thicker cortex in left medial occipito-temporal sulcus and lingual sulcus was associated with greater intensity of TCC practice. These findings indicate that long-term TCC practice could induce regional structural change and also suggest TCC might share similar patterns of neural correlates with meditation and aerobic exercise.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0061038&type=printable
spellingShingle Gao-Xia Wei
Ting Xu
Feng-Mei Fan
Hao-Ming Dong
Li-Li Jiang
Hui-Jie Li
Zhi Yang
Jing Luo
Xi-Nian Zuo
Can Taichi reshape the brain? A brain morphometry study.
PLoS ONE
title Can Taichi reshape the brain? A brain morphometry study.
title_full Can Taichi reshape the brain? A brain morphometry study.
title_fullStr Can Taichi reshape the brain? A brain morphometry study.
title_full_unstemmed Can Taichi reshape the brain? A brain morphometry study.
title_short Can Taichi reshape the brain? A brain morphometry study.
title_sort can taichi reshape the brain a brain morphometry study
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0061038&type=printable
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