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• Review •
Research progress of multimodal MRI in acupuncture for post-stroke cognitive impairment
ZHANG Ruidi  LIU Keyan  ZHAO Bin 

DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.07.015.


[Abstract] Post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) is a common complication of stroke and is characterized by deficits in memory, attention, executive function, and other cognitive domains. Acupuncture has shown potential benefits in improving cognitive function after stroke; however, its central mechanisms remain to be further clarified. Multimodal MRI enables non-invasive, quantitative assessment of brain structural, functional, and metabolic changes, thereby providing objective neuroimaging evidence for elucidating the mechanisms of acupuncture in PSCI. This review focuses on recent advances in the application of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), arterial spin labeling (ASL), and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) as the main MRI modalities in studies of acupuncture for PSCI, and briefly discusses voxel-based morphometry (VBM) as a supplementary imaging approach for characterizing gray matter morphological changes and structural pathological features in PSCI. Current evidence suggests that acupuncture may improve cognitive function by modulating large-scale brain networks, enhancing functional connectivity among cognition-related regions, improving white matter microstructural integrity, regulating cerebral metabolism, and improving cerebral perfusion and modulating neurovascular-unit-related changes. These imaging findings indicate that the therapeutic effects of acupuncture on PSCI may involve coordinated regulation of functional networks, structural connectivity, metabolic homeostasis, cerebral perfusion, and neurovascular-unit-related changes. The relationship between imaging changes and clinical cognitive outcomes is also discussed. Nevertheless, existing studies are still limited by small sample sizes, heterogeneous acupuncture protocols, and insufficient multimodal data integration. Future studies should incorporate standardized acupuncture interventions, longitudinal follow-up, and multimodal imaging fusion to further clarify the neural mechanisms and clinical value of acupuncture in PSCI.
[Keywords] acupuncture；post-stroke cognitive impairment；magnetic resonance imaging；resting-state functional magneticresonance imaging；diffusion tensor imaging；arterial spin labeling；magnetic resonance spectroscopy；brain network；neuroplasticity

ZHANG Ruidi1   LIU Keyan1   ZHAO Bin2*  

1 Graduate School of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin 150040, China

2 Department of Musculoskeletal Pain Rehabilitation, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin 150001, China

Corresponding author: ZHAO B, E-mail: 521zhaobin@163.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2026-04-14
Accepted  2026-07-08
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.07.015
DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.07.015.

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