Temporal–Spatial Acupuncture Effects on Poststroke Sensorimotor Cortex via Yanglingquan (GB34)

Abstract

Hemiplegia is a common symptom after a stroke, and acupuncture at Yanglingquan (GB34) has been found to play a significant role in the treatment of poststroke hemiplegia. To explore motor cortex pathology and acupuncture’s immediate spatiotemporal effects on poststroke motor pathway impairment, 63 patients and 42 healthy subjects underwent three functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans: resting-state, passive finger movement, and acupuncture at Yanglingquan points. Twenty-two brain regions were selected as regions of interest (ROI). Spatial intersubject correlation (spatial ISC), intersubject time point-to-time point correlation (ISTC), and dynamic intersubject functional correlation (dISFC) analysis methods were employed to analyze the intersubject correlation of signal fluctuations in each scan condition. Spatial ISC and ISTC analyses revealed stable signal patterns during resting for both groups with minimal differences. During finger movement, signal patterns matched the task module (movement–rest–movement–rest). In acupuncture, response patterns showed a high–low–high–low fluctuation trend across time segments. And dISFC analysis clustered patient and control data into five time segments for resting and acupuncture, with slight group differences. Time segment distribution differed between resting and acupuncture. Resting displayed consistent ISFC intensity change trend for both groups. Acupuncture showed “strong–weak–strong–weak” ISFC fluctuation pattern between time segments, with relative intensity among ROIs being structurally consistent, varying more during needle retention. These results suggest that acupuncture at Yanglingquan (GB34) shows a “strong–weak–strong–weak” time fluctuation pattern. Motor-related brain regions display consistent temporal features between groups, while acupuncture yields intricate spatiotemporal effects on these areas.