The Brain Functional Changes Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Patients Intervented With Electro-Acupuncture:a Resting-fMRI Study

Objective:To analyse the functional changes and explore the central mechanisms of post-traumatic stress disorder with electro-acupuncture.which can provides new evidence for the theory of electro-acupuncture treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.Methods:1.Ten PTSD and twelve healthy subjects who respectively matched the inclusion criteria accept the resting-state fMRI scans. Observed the brain functional changes with the ALFF analysis methods.2.Ten PTSD who matched the inclusion criteria were received eletro-acupuncture three times per week and totally thirty-six times. Clinical evaluation and resting-state fMRI scans were performed before and after treatment. The characteristics of functional changes after treatment and comparing with the healthy subjects were investigated.Results:1.CAPS、 SAS、SDS were statistical significance before and after treatment (p <0.05).2.Comparing with the health subjects, the ALFF value of the left parahippocampal, right temporal middle, left angularshowed increased, and decreased on the regions of the right cerebellum posterior lobe, right temporal pole middle, right fusiform,right cuneus(p<0.001, cluster>20)3.The ALFF value of left superior occipital,right middle occipital was significantly increased and significantly decreased of the left cerebellum, left fusiform, right temporal middle, left precuneus and left middle frontal gyrus comparing to before treatment(p<0.001, cluster>20).4.Compared to the health subjects, the patients showed increased ALFF value in the left cingulum anterior, right angular, left parietal lobe, the left cerebellum, left middle occipital(p<0.001. cluster>20).Conclusions:1.The electro-acupuncture has efficient to PTSD.2.On the resting state there were multiple ALFF exceptions in the brain regions of PTSD, and provide some evidence about the existence of default mode network of PTSD and what roles the regions plays in PTSD.3.The electro-acupuncture can ameliorate the symptoms of PTSD,and it maybe for the electro-acupuncture repairing the default mode network of PTSD.