Altered Hub Configurations within Default Mode Network following Acupuncture at ST36: A Multimodal Investigation Combining fMRI and MEG

Abstract

Acupuncture, an externally somatosensory stimulation in the Traditional Chinese Medicine, has been proposed about its modulations on the brain's default mode network (DMN). However, it is still unknown on how the internal brain resting networks are modulated and what inferences can be made about the physiological processes underlying these changes. Combining high spatial resolution of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with high temporal resolution of magnetoencephalography (MEG), in the current multimodal study, we sought to explore spatiotemporally whether or not band-specific DMN hub configurations would be induced by verum acupuncture, compared with sham control. Spatial independent component analysis was applied to fMRI data, followed by the discrete regional sources seeded into MEG data. Partial correlation analysis was further adopted to estimate the intrinsic functional connectivity and network hub configurations. One of the most striking findings is that the posterior cingulate cortex is not only validated as a robust DMN hub, but served as a hub only within the delta and gamma bands following the verum acupuncture, compared with its consistently being a DMN hub in sham control group. Our preliminary results may provide a new perspective to lend support for the specificity of neural mechanism underlying acupuncture.