Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41626073›Full record

ArticleIBRO neuroscience reports2026

Acupuncture-induced changes in locus coeruleus connectivity and memory improvement in patients with amnestic cognitive impairment.

Liyu Hu, Xinbei Li, Juan Ou, Ting Liu, Xingxian Huang, Xingchen Liu, Yingqi Lu, Nan Yang, Jinhuan Zhang

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PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in IBRO neuroscience reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Liyu HuDepartment of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, the Fourth Clinical Medical College, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen 518033, China.
Xinbei LiDepartment of Radiology, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, the Fourth Clinical Medical College, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen 518033, China.
Juan OuDepartment of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, the Fourth Clinical Medical College, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen 518033, China.
Ting LiuDepartment of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, the Fourth Clinical Medical College, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen 518033, China.
Xingxian HuangDepartment of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, the Fourth Clinical Medical College, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen 518033, China.
Xingchen LiuHospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Zhongshan, Zhongshan 528400, China.
Yingqi LuInstitute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.
Nan YangHospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Zhongshan, Zhongshan 528400, China.
Jinhuan ZhangDepartment of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, the Fourth Clinical Medical College, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen 518033, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: An increasing number of neuroimaging studies have consistently indicated that the locus coeruleus is associated with cognitive impairment in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, and the locus coeruleus plays a critical role in cognition, including memory encoding, consolidation, and retrieval. Objective: To investigate whether and how acupuncture modulates the functional connectivity patterns of the locus coeruleus, and offer a new perspective on the mechanism through which acupuncture exerts its efficacy. Methods: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were collected from 50 patients with amnestic cognitive impairment (aMCI) before and after verum or sham acupuncture. Seed-based whole-brain functional connectivity (FC) was calculated and compared to explore the changing patterns of the locus coeruleus in aMCI patients following acupuncture. Results: Increased FCs were observed between the left locus coeruleus and the left inferior parietal lobule, and between the right locus coeruleus and the right posterior cerebellum in aMCI patients after verum acupuncture. Further analyses revealed a correlation between FC of the left locus coeruleus and the left inferior parietal lobule before acupuncture and improvement in immediate recall in aMCI patients. Conclusions: These results suggest that acupuncture could enhance FC between the locus coeruleus and the inferior parietal lobule/the posterior cerebellum. These functional alterations appear to be linked to the efficacy of acupuncture, particularly in ameliorating memory deficits.

Indexed as

AcupunctureAlzheimer’s diseaseAmnestic mild cognitive impairmentLocus coeruleusResting-state functional connectivity

Identifiers

PMID41626073
PMCPMC12856631

What Socratic holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.