Effects of Acupuncture Treatment on Functional Brain Networks of Parkinson’s Disease Patients during Treadmill Walking: An fNIRS Study

Acupuncture is increasingly being used as an alternative treatment for patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). We aimed to evaluate the effects of acupuncture on gait-related brain function in patients with PD using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Twenty-four patients with PD were randomly assigned to intervention (acupuncture twice a week for 4 weeks) or control (non-treatment) groups. fNIRS experiments applying a block design were performed at baseline (0 weeks) and 4- and 8-week follow-up and cortical activation and connectivity were evaluated. After acupuncture treatment, oxy-hemoglobin (HbO) levels in the intervention group were significantly increased in the primary motor cortex (M1), supplementary motor area (SMA), and prefrontal cortex (PFC). Furthermore, following acupuncture treatment in the intervention group, the connectivities in the M1 and PFC regions increased. The results show that acupuncture may be a useful complementary treatment for gait disturbances in patients with PD, and fNIRS can be applicable to evaluate neural plasticity directly. The evaluation method in this paper can be used to assess the neural plasticity related to various rehabilitation techniques.