Ya-Qin Li,1,2,* Zi-Wen Chen,1,3,* Hui He,4,* Yi-Wei Liu,5 Fang Ye,6 Zuo-Qin Yang,7 De-Hua Li,8 Qiong-Nan Bao,1,3 Xin-Yue Zhang,1,3 Wan-Qi Zhong,1,3 Ke-Xin Wu,1,3 Jin Yao,1,3 Ping Xu,1,3 Shi-Qi Yang,1,3 Zi-Wen Wang,1,3 Zi-Han Yin,1,3 Fan-Rong Liang1,3 

1School of Acu-Mox and Tuina, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Geriatrics, The Fourth People’s Hospital of Chengdu, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 3Sichuan Provincial Acupuncture Clinical Medicine Research Center, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 4Brain Disease Research Center, The Fourth People’s Hospital of Chengdu, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 5Rehabilitation Medicine Center and Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 6Department of Neurology, Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 7Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Pidu District, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 8Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Fan-Rong Liang, Email acuresearch@126.com Zi-Han Yin, Email yinzihan@stu.cdutcm.edu.cn

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is characterized by abnormal changes in spatiotemporal neuronal specificity responses. Simultaneous electroencephalogram (EEG)-functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) offers a novel approach to measure these changes. Emerging evidence suggests that acupuncture may enhance cognitive function by modulating spatial or temporal central activity in individuals with MCI. However, no studies have investigated the detailed mechanisms underlying this effect.
Methods: This randomized controlled neuroimaging trial will enroll 60 patients with MCI, who will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: a real acupuncture (RA) group or a sham acupuncture (SA) group. The trial period will last 12 weeks, during which participants will receive 24 sessions of acupuncture twice weekly. The primary outcome measure will be the improvement in the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive subscale (ADAS-Cog) score from baseline to post-treatment. Secondary outcomes will include improvements in specific cognitive domains such as memory, executive function, language, and attention. Simultaneous EEG-fMRI combined with correlation analysis, regression analysis, and joint independent component analysis (jICA) will elucidate the spatiotemporal central modulatory mechanisms of acupuncture in MCI patients.
Discussion: This study may reveal that real acupuncture can treat cognitive impairment by modulating the brain’s spatiotemporal neuronal specificity activity. Our findings will provide scientific evidence for the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of MCI and further add to the understanding of the neural mechanisms.
Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier [ChiCTR2400084666].

Keywords: acupuncture, mild cognitive impairment, simultaneous electroencephalography - functional magnetic resonance imaging