Acupuncture modulates group neural activity in patients with post stroke sensory impairment: An fMRI study based on inter-subject correlation and inter-subject functional connectivity

Sensory impairment after stroke has become an important health problem that affects the health and quality of life of patients. Acupuncture is a widely accepted method for stroke rehabilitation. The development of fMRI provides a good platform for the study of neural activity patterns induced by acu...

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Main Authors: Xunqi Qian, Hua Zhang, Jing Peng, Lei Song, Qiuyi Lv, Weihua Jia, Zhongjian Tan, Ying Gao, Yihuai Zou, Xing Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-03-01
Series:Brain Research Bulletin
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0361923025000711
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author Xunqi Qian
Hua Zhang
Jing Peng
Lei Song
Qiuyi Lv
Weihua Jia
Zhongjian Tan
Ying Gao
Yihuai Zou
Xing Chen
author_facet Xunqi Qian
Hua Zhang
Jing Peng
Lei Song
Qiuyi Lv
Weihua Jia
Zhongjian Tan
Ying Gao
Yihuai Zou
Xing Chen
author_sort Xunqi Qian
collection DOAJ
description Sensory impairment after stroke has become an important health problem that affects the health and quality of life of patients. Acupuncture is a widely accepted method for stroke rehabilitation. The development of fMRI provides a good platform for the study of neural activity patterns induced by acupuncture, and many studies have found that acupuncture can induce special activation of the brain in stroke patients. We introduced the inter-subject functional connectivity(ISFC) method into the study of acupuncture treatment for sensory impairment after stroke to explore the group effects of acupuncture treatment and the specific mode of action of acupuncture for sensory impairment. In this study, 24 stroke patients with limb numbness and 23 healthy controls were included, and three functional magnetic resonance scans were designed, including resting state, acupuncture task state, and acupuncture-retention state(LI11 and ST36 were used during the task fMRI). The main observation was the connection changes in 50 regions of interest, including the sensory-motor network, central executive network, thalamus, cingulate gyrus, and other brain regions. The findings showed that acupuncture could cause certain patterns of neural activity in the patients. These patterns included a significant rise in ISFC within the sensory-motor network and between the sensory-motor network and the thalamus and the central executive network. When different types of acupuncture were compared, it was found that the first effect of acupuncture was mostly large-scale activation of the sensory-motor network and the thalamus. The second effect, on the other hand, was low-intensity activation in a limited range. In general, this study explored the group mechanism of acupuncture for sensory function rehabilitation after stroke and provided some help for understanding neural activity patterns from a cross-subject dimension.
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spelling doaj-art-904c4d789f104f9b9996f4e300e60b122025-08-20T02:47:21ZengElsevierBrain Research Bulletin1873-27472025-03-0122211125910.1016/j.brainresbull.2025.111259Acupuncture modulates group neural activity in patients with post stroke sensory impairment: An fMRI study based on inter-subject correlation and inter-subject functional connectivityXunqi Qian0Hua Zhang1Jing Peng2Lei Song3Qiuyi Lv4Weihua Jia5Zhongjian Tan6Ying Gao7Yihuai Zou8Xing Chen9Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, PR ChinaDepartment of Encephalopathy, Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, PR ChinaDongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, PR ChinaDongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, PR ChinaDongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, PR ChinaDepartment of Brain Function Examination, Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, PR ChinaDepartment of Radiology, Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, PR ChinaInstitute of Brain Disorders, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, PR ChinaDepartment of Encephalopathy, Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, PR ChinaDepartment of Brain Function Examination, Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, PR China; Correspondence to: Department of Brain Function Examination, Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, No. 05 Haiyuncang Road, Beijing, PR China.Sensory impairment after stroke has become an important health problem that affects the health and quality of life of patients. Acupuncture is a widely accepted method for stroke rehabilitation. The development of fMRI provides a good platform for the study of neural activity patterns induced by acupuncture, and many studies have found that acupuncture can induce special activation of the brain in stroke patients. We introduced the inter-subject functional connectivity(ISFC) method into the study of acupuncture treatment for sensory impairment after stroke to explore the group effects of acupuncture treatment and the specific mode of action of acupuncture for sensory impairment. In this study, 24 stroke patients with limb numbness and 23 healthy controls were included, and three functional magnetic resonance scans were designed, including resting state, acupuncture task state, and acupuncture-retention state(LI11 and ST36 were used during the task fMRI). The main observation was the connection changes in 50 regions of interest, including the sensory-motor network, central executive network, thalamus, cingulate gyrus, and other brain regions. The findings showed that acupuncture could cause certain patterns of neural activity in the patients. These patterns included a significant rise in ISFC within the sensory-motor network and between the sensory-motor network and the thalamus and the central executive network. When different types of acupuncture were compared, it was found that the first effect of acupuncture was mostly large-scale activation of the sensory-motor network and the thalamus. The second effect, on the other hand, was low-intensity activation in a limited range. In general, this study explored the group mechanism of acupuncture for sensory function rehabilitation after stroke and provided some help for understanding neural activity patterns from a cross-subject dimension.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0361923025000711Ischemic strokeSensory impairmentAcupunctureThalamusFunctionalMRI,inter-subject functional connectivity
spellingShingle Xunqi Qian
Hua Zhang
Jing Peng
Lei Song
Qiuyi Lv
Weihua Jia
Zhongjian Tan
Ying Gao
Yihuai Zou
Xing Chen
Acupuncture modulates group neural activity in patients with post stroke sensory impairment: An fMRI study based on inter-subject correlation and inter-subject functional connectivity
Brain Research Bulletin
Ischemic stroke
Sensory impairment
Acupuncture
Thalamus
Functional
MRI,inter-subject functional connectivity
title Acupuncture modulates group neural activity in patients with post stroke sensory impairment: An fMRI study based on inter-subject correlation and inter-subject functional connectivity
title_full Acupuncture modulates group neural activity in patients with post stroke sensory impairment: An fMRI study based on inter-subject correlation and inter-subject functional connectivity
title_fullStr Acupuncture modulates group neural activity in patients with post stroke sensory impairment: An fMRI study based on inter-subject correlation and inter-subject functional connectivity
title_full_unstemmed Acupuncture modulates group neural activity in patients with post stroke sensory impairment: An fMRI study based on inter-subject correlation and inter-subject functional connectivity
title_short Acupuncture modulates group neural activity in patients with post stroke sensory impairment: An fMRI study based on inter-subject correlation and inter-subject functional connectivity
title_sort acupuncture modulates group neural activity in patients with post stroke sensory impairment an fmri study based on inter subject correlation and inter subject functional connectivity
topic Ischemic stroke
Sensory impairment
Acupuncture
Thalamus
Functional
MRI,inter-subject functional connectivity
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0361923025000711
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