Abstract
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a common global health problem. Recently, the potential of mind-body intervention for MCI has drawn the interest of investigators. This study aims to comparatively explore the modulation effect of Baduanjin, a popular mind-body exercise, and physical exercise on the cognitive function, as well as the norepinephrine and dopamine systems using the resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) method in patients with MCI. 69 patients were randomized to the Baduanjin, brisk walking, or healthy education control group for 6 months. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were applied at baseline and at the end of the experiment. Results showed that (1) compared to the brisk walking, the Baduanjin significantly increased MoCA scores; (2) Baduanjin significantly increased the right locus coeruleus (LC) and left ventral tegmental area (VTA) rsFC with the right insula and right amygdala compared to that of the control group; and the right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) compared to that of the brisk walking group; (3) the increased right LC-right insula rsFC and right LC-right ACC rsFC were significantly associated with the corresponding MoCA score after 6-months of intervention; (4) both exercise groups experienced an increased effective connectivity from the right ACC to the left VTA compared to the control group; and (5) Baduanjin group experienced an increase in gray matter volume in the right ACC compared to the control group. Our results suggest that Baduanjin can significantly modulate intrinsic functional connectivity and the influence of the norepinephrine (LC) and dopamine (VTA) systems. These findings may shed light on the mechanisms of mind-body intervention and aid the development of new treatments for MCI.
Highlights
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a condition characterized by impaired cognitive function with a minimal impact on activities of daily living
In another study in individuals with MCI, we found compared to the brisk walking and control groups, the Baduanjin can increased memory function as measured by Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), modulate the brain low-frequency oscillations, and increase gray matter volume of hippocampus and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (Tao et al, 2019)
The randomized controlled trial with three parallel groups (Baduanjin, brisk walking, and a healthy education control) was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Second People’s Hospital of Fujian Province (Fuzhou, China) and was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR-ICR-15005795). All subjects gave their informed consent at the initiation of study procedures, and details of these procedures can be found in our previous publication (Tao et al, 2019) in which we investigate the modulation effect of Baduanjin using the Amplitude of lowfrequency fluctuations (ALFF), region-of-interest voxel-based morphometry (VBM) Analysis, and resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) of hippocampus and ACC
Summary
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a condition characterized by impaired cognitive function with a minimal impact on activities of daily living. Exercise has been recently recommended to improve cognitive function in patients with MCI (Petersen et al, 2018). Previous studies have found that Baduanjin can improve attention, executive control function, and memory function, as well as modulate cognition-related brain function and structure. We found that compared to the education control, 12-week Baduanjin training significantly improved the memory quotient (MQ) and resting state functional connectivity of dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and hippocampus in elderly adults (Tao et al, 2016, 2017a). In another study in individuals with MCI, we found compared to the brisk walking and control groups, the Baduanjin can increased memory function as measured by Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), modulate the brain low-frequency oscillations, and increase gray matter volume of hippocampus and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (Tao et al, 2019)
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