Efficacy of acupuncture for sleep disorders in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: a randomized controlled trial with fMRI.
- 1Department of Acupuncture, The Fourth Clinical Medical College of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, China.
- 2Department of Acupuncture, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Anorectal Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
- 3Department of Acupuncture, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
Abstract
Objective
To access the efficacy of acupuncture in improving sleep disorders in patients with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) and to investigate its mechanisms.Methods
Thirty aMCI patients with sleep disorders and fifteen healthy controls (HC) were enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned to verum acupuncture group (VA) or sham acupuncture group (SA) for a 12-week treatment. Assessments included the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and resting-state Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).Results
At baseline, patients with aMCI exhibited aberrant brain activity in temporal, frontal, parietal, and cerebellar regions compared with HCs. After treatment, the VA group, but not the SA group, showed significant improvements in both MoCA and PSQI scores. Rs-fMRI analyses revealed significant VA-related changes in the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) in the left calcarine sulcus and regional homogeneity (ReHo) in the cerebellar vermis. Changes in these imaging indicators were significantly correlated with changes in MoCA scores but not with changes in PSQI scores. Moreover, changes in MoCA scores were negatively correlated with changes in PSQI scores in the VA group (r = -0.536, p = 0.039).Conclusion
Acupuncture could effectively improve sleep and cognitive function in aMCI patients. The treatment-related alterations in brain function may be associated with changes in the dermatome layer and the brain-cerebellar cortex circuitry.Clinical trial registration
https://itmctr.ccebtcm.org.cn/mgt/search, Identifier ITMCTR2026000708.
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BibTeX
@article{qiu2026efficacy,
title = {{Efficacy of acupuncture for sleep disorders in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: a randomized controlled trial with fMRI.}},
author = {Di Qiu and Ruiyao Li and Jikang Yang and Liyao Ding and Jiayong Deng and Yongfeng Liu and Jinhuan Zhang},
journal = {Frontiers in neurology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fneur.2026.1913478},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42903032},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Efficacy of acupuncture for sleep disorders in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: a randomized controlled trial with fMRI.
AU - Di Qiu
AU - Ruiyao Li
AU - Jikang Yang
AU - Liyao Ding
AU - Jiayong Deng
AU - Yongfeng Liu
AU - Jinhuan Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/06
JO - Frontiers in neurology
DO - 10.3389/fneur.2026.1913478
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42903032
AB - Objective To access the efficacy of acupuncture in improving sleep disorders in patients with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) and to investigate its mechanisms.Methods Thirty aMCI patients with sleep disorders and fifteen healthy controls (HC) were enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned to verum acupuncture group (VA) or sham acupuncture group (SA) for a 12-week treatment. Assessments included the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and resting-state Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).Results At baseline, patients with aMCI exhibited aberrant brain activity in temporal, frontal, parietal, and cerebellar regions compared with HCs. After treatment, the VA group, but not the SA group, showed significant improvements in both MoCA and PSQI scores. Rs-fMRI analyses revealed significant VA-related changes in the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) in the left calcarine sulcus and regional homogeneity (ReHo) in the cerebellar vermis. Changes in these imaging indicators were significantly correlated with changes in MoCA scores but not with changes in PSQI scores. Moreover, changes in MoCA scores were negatively correlated with changes in PSQI scores in the VA group (r = -0.536, p = 0.039).Conclusion Acupuncture could effectively improve sleep and cognitive function in aMCI patients. The treatment-related alterations in brain function may be associated with changes in the dermatome layer and the brain-cerebellar cortex circuitry.Clinical trial registration https://itmctr.ccebtcm.org.cn/mgt/search, Identifier ITMCTR2026000708.
SN - 1664-2295
ER -