Acupuncture and Mild Cognitive Impairment

Acupuncture and mild cognitive impairment: the acupuncture point Taixi.

Acupuncture administered to a well-known point on the ankle, can enhance activity in areas of the brain associated with memory, in patients suffering from mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Researchers used functional MRI scans to measure brain activity in both MCI patients and healthy controls, whilst they were being needled either superficially or more deeply, at the acupuncture point Taixi (illustrated left). Compared with healthy controls, the MCI patients’ scans revealed abnormal functional connectivity in the temporal regions of the brain (hippocampus, thalamus, fusiform gyrus) which are implicated in memory and information retrieval. Following deep needling, there were significant and persistent enhancements in the functional connectivity of these regions compared with only superficial needling.

The researchers conclude that the enhanced connectivity in the memory-related brain regions following acupuncture, may be related to the purported therapeutically beneficial effects of acupuncture for the treatment of MCI. Further, the differences observed between deep and superficial needle insertion suggest that deeper muscle insertion is necessary to achieve an appreciable clinical effect.

(FMRI Connectivity Analysis of Acupuncture Effects on the Whole Brain Network in Mild Cognitive Impairment Patients. Magnetic Resonance Imaging, June 2012.)

Author: Robin Costello

I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training. I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.