Acupuncture Modulates the Cerebello-Thalamo-Cortical Circuit and Cognitive Brain Regions in Patients of Parkinson's Disease With Tremor

Li Z, Chen J, Cheng J, Huang S, Hu Y, Wu Y, Li G, Liu B, Liu X, Guo W, Huang S, Zhou M, Chen X, Xiao Y, Chen C, Chen J, Luo X, Xu P · Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience · 2018 July 05

DOI 10.3389/fnagi.2018.00206

Objective

To investigate the effect of acupuncture on Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with tremor and its potential neuromechanism by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Conclusions

The cerebellum, thalamus and motor cortex, which are connected to the cerebello-thalamo-cortical (CTC) circuit, were modulated by the acupuncture stimulation to alleviate the PD tremor. The regulation of neural activity within the cognitive brain regions (the DMN, visual areas, insula and PFC) together with CTC circuit may contributes to enhancing movement and improving patients' daily life activities.

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