Xie Yingrong, Cai Kelong, Dai Jingang, Wei Gaoxia
CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing 100101, China.
Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
Brain Sci. 2023 Apr 20;13(4):691. doi: 10.3390/brainsci13040691.
Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) is an increasingly popular multimodal mind-body practice with potential cognitive benefits, yet the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these effects, particularly in relation to brain white matter (WM) microstructure, remain largely unknown. In this study, we used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and the attention network test (ANT) to compare 22 TCC practitioners and 18 healthy controls. We found extensive differences in fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD) between the two groups. Specifically, TCC practitioners had significantly different diffusion metrics in the corticospinal tract (CST), fornix (FX)/stria terminalis (ST), and cerebral peduncle (CP). We also observed a significant correlation between increased FA values in the right CP and ANT performance in TCC practitioners. Our findings suggest that optimized regional WM microstructure may contribute to the complex information processing associated with TCC practice, providing insights for preventing cognitive decline and treating neurological disorders with cognitive impairment in clinical rehabilitation.
太极拳（TCC）是一种越来越受欢迎的多模式身心锻炼方法，具有潜在的认知益处，然而，这些效果背后的神经生物学机制，尤其是与脑白质（WM）微观结构相关的机制，在很大程度上仍然未知。在本研究中，我们使用扩散张量成像（DTI）和注意力网络测试（ANT）对22名太极拳练习者和18名健康对照者进行了比较。我们发现两组之间在分数各向异性（FA）、平均扩散率（MD）、轴向扩散率（AD）和径向扩散率（RD）方面存在广泛差异。具体而言，太极拳练习者在皮质脊髓束（CST）、穹窿（FX）/终纹（ST）和大脑脚（CP）中的扩散指标存在显著差异。我们还观察到，太极拳练习者右侧大脑脚的FA值增加与ANT表现之间存在显著相关性。我们的研究结果表明，优化的区域WM微观结构可能有助于与太极拳练习相关的复杂信息处理，为临床康复中预防认知衰退和治疗伴有认知障碍的神经系统疾病提供了见解。
