Tai Chi Chuan and Baduanjin practice modulates functional connectivity of the cognitive control network in older adults

Abstract

Cognitive impairment is one of the most common problem saffecting older adults. In this study, we investigated whether Tai Chi Chuan and Baduanjin practice can modulate mental control functionand the resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) of the cognitive control network in older adults. Participants in the two exercise groups practiced either Tai Chi Chuan or Baduanjin for 12 weeks, and those in the control group received basic health education. Memory tests and fMRI scans were conducted at baseline and at the end of the study. Seed-based (bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, DLPFC) rsFC analysis was performed. We found that compared to the controls, 1) both Tai Chi Chuan and Baduanjin groups demonstrated significant improvements in mental control function; 2) the Tai Chi Chuan group showed a significant decrease in rsFC between the DLPFC and the left superior frontal gyrus (SFG) and anterior cingulate cortex; and 3) the Baduanjin group showed a significant decrease in rsFC between the DLPFC and the left putamen and insula. Mental control improvement was negatively associated with rsFC DLPFC-putamen changes across all subjects. These findings demonstrate the potential of Tai Chi Chuan and Baduanjin exercises in preventing cognitive decline.

Figure 1. Yellow indicates brain regions that showed significant FC decrease with in the cognitive control network (CCN) in the Tai Chi Chuan group as compared to the control group; Red indicates brain regions that showed significant FC decrease within the CCN in the Baduanjin group as compared to the control group; Blue indicates brain regions, in which the CCN FC changes (post-minus pre-treatment) were negatively associated with the mental control score across all subjects.

(A) The activation regions in the left SFG is the CCN FC changes in the Tai Chi Chuan group as compared to the control group; (B) The activation regions of dACC/rACC in the contract of Tai Chi Chuan group and control group. (C) The circle indicates an overlap of the results of the CCN FC changes in Baduanjin group and association between the mental control scores improvement and the CCN FC decrease in the left putamen across all subjects; (D) Scatter plots show the correlation between mental control and Fisher’s Z values at the peak (−39 0 18) of the significant cluster across all subjects. L, left; SFG, superior frontal gyrus; ACC, anterior cingulate cortex.