Systematic Acupuncture Clinical Trial
Official title:
Understanding the Cognitive Benefits of Acupuncture for Stroke Recovery Through fMRI
Based on the evidence, a pre-post test pilot study design will be implemented to clarify the benefits of an acupuncture intervention before and after treatment. The initial assessment will contain a brief demographic interview and a review of medical records, and both pre and post-intervention evaluations will comprise an imaging protocol that includes RS-fMRI, pCASL, diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI), and a brief cognitive assessment, as described in greater detail below. Several quantitative measures within DMN regions will be generated and compared between pre- and post-acupuncture therapy. These include 1) RS-fMRI measures such as connectivity strength and fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (fALFF); 2) regional CBF measured with pCASL; 3) water diffusion measures for microstructural changes with DKI.
A pilot sample of 5 individuals with left CVA's will participate in a 6 session acupuncture
intervention. Pre and post fMRI and cognitive data will be compared.
The objectives of this study are 1) to determine the effects of acupuncture in improving
cognitive performance in a pilot sample of 5 individuals who have experienced a left CVA and
2) to clarify the mechanism of improvement via functional brain imaging.
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