AUTHOR=Li Jing , Ng WingYi , Liu YongKang , Fang XiaoKun , Wang ZhongQiu , Pei LiXia , Wei XueHu 

TITLE=Neuroplasticity of the white matter tracts underlying recovery of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome following acupuncture treatment

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neuroscience

VOLUME=Volume 18 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2024.1383041

DOI=10.3389/fnins.2024.1383041

ISSN=1662-453X

ABSTRACT=Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a functional bowel disorder frequently associated with other pain syndromes and psychiatric conditions, including depression and anxiety. These abnormalities coincide with alterations in the brain's structure, particularly in the thalamus and cingulate system. Acupuncture has been demonstrated to be highly effective in treating IBS. However, it remains unclear how white matter tracts change after acupuncture treatment, and whether the neuroplasticity of these tracts can serve as a neural marker to assist in the development of novel treatments. In this study, we aim to answer these questions by investigating longitudinal changes in the white matter of thalamus and cingulate system in a group of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) patients before and after acupuncture treatment. We found that after acupuncture treatment, as IBS symptoms improved, there were significant changes in the microstructure of the right thalamus radiation (TR) (p < 0.05) and the right cingulum hippocampus (CH) (p < 0.05). At the same time, patients with reduced IBS symptom severity scores were associated with the change of the right CH (p = 0.015, r = -0.491), while reduced depressive conditions correlated with the change of the left TR (p = 0.019, r = 0.418). In addition, the consequences for quality of life showed a correlation with right cingulum (CC) (p = 0.012, r = 0.504) and left TR (p = 0.027, r = -0.397). Our study highlighted the potential implications of neuroplasticity white matter tract in IBS. Furthermore, these findings suggested that right CH, thalamus radiation and right CC can serve as a potential "biomarker" of IBS-D recovery under acupuncture treatments.