1000 Section - Effect of Acupuncture on Cognitive Function and Brain Activation in Elderly Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) represents a critical window for intervention to delay dementia progression. As a non-pharmacological therapy, acupuncture is economical, accessible, and culturally accepted. However, its application for MCI still requires support from robust clinical data and neurofunctional evidence. This study aimed to investigate the effects of acupuncture on cognitive function and brain activation in elderly patients with MCI.

Design:

In a randomized, single-blind, controlled trial, 60 elderly MCI patients were assigned to either an experimental group (receiving 12 weeks of acupuncture plus health education) or a control group (health education alone). Finally, 27 cases in the experimental group and 29 in the control group were included in the analysis. Cognitive assessments using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Shape Trail Test (STT-A/B), as well as functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) measurements during a verbal fluency task (VFT), were conducted at baseline and after 12 weeks. Task-related β-values in seven regions of interest (ROIs), including the frontal pole area (FPA), temporal cortex (TC), and Broca's area, were analyzed.

Results: The experimental group demonstrated significant improvements in MoCA scores (from 22.15±2.11 to 27.15±1.59, P< 0.001) and reduced STT-A/B completion times (STT-A: 73.22±18.79s to 56.00±12.88s; STT-B: 207.15±61.86s to 154.41±40.64s, both P< 0.05), with no comparable changes in controls. fNIRS analysis indicated significant time-by-group interactions in FPA, TC and Broca's areas (P< 0.05), characterized by increased β-values only in the experimental group (e.g., TC: 0.048±0.104 to 0.116±0.101, P=0.002; Broca: 0.065±0.100 to 0.157±0.122, P< 0.001). Correlational analysis revealed associations between cognitive gains and β-value changes in TC (r=0.30, P=0.029) and Broca (r=0.32, P=0.017).

Conclusion: Acupuncture can effectively improve cognitive function in elderly patients with MCI. The underlying mechanism may involve the selective enhancement of neural activation in memory-associated (TC) and language-processing (Broca's area) regions, while FPA activation might play merely a compensatory role.