Scalp acupuncture is a method of treating diseases by dividing and stimulating the corresponding function-oriented cortical scalp areas. It is a commonly used therapy for neurological disorders. However, the specific target selection for scalp acupuncture remains to be explored. This manuscript aims to initiate an attempt to develop/identify scalp acupuncture targets based on neuroimaging findings and noninvasive brain stimulation.

Neurosynth-based meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies was conducted to identify brain stimulation targets of neurological disorders. The identified target regions were further projected to the scalp. The traditional acupoints and 10-20 EEG system were referenced for the localization of these targets. In this study, the “mild cognitive impairment” (MCI), “Alzheimer’s disease” (AD) and “dementia” were used as the retrieval terms respectively, and a unity detection method was used to generate brain maps, with the default FDR (false discovery rate, P<0.01) threshold of Neurosynth set for subsequent exploration of various disease-related brain regions. The literature search was conducted on July 30, 2022.

The localization and manipulation suggestions of neuroimage-based scalp acupuncture targets for MCI, AD, and dementia were introduced in the present paper (part 2). Here are 3 target examples for each of these 3 diseases due to word limitation. 1) MCI: Based on the 81 papers retrieved, we identified 6 potential scalp acupuncture points for MCI, their corresponding brain regions, brain functions and the possible resultant effects of the scalp target acupoint stimulation respectively are as below. MCI1: the orbital part of the left inferior frontal gyrus (left Brodmann area [BA]47), related to semantic coding, working memory and episodic memory, improving semantic coding and memory function; MCI2: the anterior motor area/left anterior central gyrus (left BA6), the motor center area, improving MCI motor function; MCI3: the left medial temporal gyrus (left BA21), related to the processing of speech, visual space, language and word understanding, improving language and memory. 2) AD: Based on the 196 papers retrieved, we found 6 potential scalp acupuncture targets for AD, their corresponding brain regions and brain functions of the 3 example targets respectively are as below. AD1: the left medial temporal gyrus (left BA21), participating in language and semantic processing, sentence and word generation, intent expression, deductive reasoning; AD2: the left angular gyrus (left BA39), related to semantic processing, word reading and comprehension, memory retrieval, attention and spatial cognition, reasoning, etc.; AD3: the left fusiform/suboccipital gyrus (left BA37), related to semantic classification, text generation, sign language, phonology processing, etc. 3) Dementia: Based on the 142 papers retrieved, we found 4 potential scalp acupuncture targets for dementia, their corresponding brain regions, brain functions and the possible targets of the proposed scalp stimulation respectively are as below. D1 and D2: the left inferior frontal gyrus (i. e., left BA46, and left BA47, respectively), being closely related to working memory, emotional response regulation, melody and other processing processes, may be suitable for treating memory decline and advanced executive dysfunction in patients with dementia; D3: the left medial temporal gyrus (left BA21), an important brain region for various sensory integration, cognitive processing and memory functions, and emotional processing, may be suitable for temporal dementia.

We identified scalp acupuncture targets for several common neurological disorders based on neuroimaging findings and noninvasive brain stimulation. The proposed targets may also be used for treating these disorders using nerve/brain stimulation methods.

Scalp acupuncture is a unique acupuncture method developed based on brain functional and pathophysiological knowledge. In past decades, there has been significant development in the understanding of the brain pathology of many neurological disorders through cutting-edge brain imaging techniques. Yet, these findings have not been incorporated into scalp acupuncture. In the present paper, we aimed to initiate an attempt to develop/identify scalp acupuncture targets based on neuroimaging findings.

Based on the meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies in the Neurosynth database platform (http://neurosynth.org/), the brain clusters related to neurological disorders were automatically identified according to the search terms “Parkinson’s disease” (PD), “chronic pain” (CP), “aphasia” (APH), “dyslexia” (DYS), “mild cognitive impairment”, “Alzheimer’s disease” and “dementia”. Subsequently, the discovered brain region clusters projected onto the brain surface and scalp surface were listed, and the peak points of the clusters projected to the scalp surface were proposed as the potential stimulation targets for the corresponding diseases. Further, by combining the traditional scalp acupoints (including the scalp acupuncture lines) with 10-20 EEG system sites, we made localization suggestions for scalp stimulation targets and made acupuncture operation suggestions by combining with the shape of the brain region clusters. The literature search was conducted on July 30, 2022.

The localization and manipulation suggestions of neuroimage-based scalp acupuncture targets were introduced in two parts. This part (part 1) includes PD, CP, APH, and DYS. Here are 3target examples of each of these 4 diseases simply introduced due to word limitation. 1) PD. Based on the 175 articles retrieved from Neurosynth, we identified 7 potential scalp acupuncture targets for PD, the locations of the acupuncture stimulation and the recommended acupuncture needle operation (RANO) as well as the corresponding brain regions (CBRs) respectively are as below. PD1: about 0.5 cun (1 cun≈33.3 mm) superior-posterior to the left Xuanlu (GB5); puncturing subcutaneously and forward-upward; the left premotor area, subfrontal cortex of the island, inferior frontal gyrus and middle frontal gyrus. PD2: about 1 cun lateral-inferior to the left Chengling (GB18); puncturing subcutaneously and backward-upward; the inferior parietal lobule and postcentral gyrus. PD3: about 0.5 cun later-alanterior to the left GB18; puncturing subcutaneously and inward-backward; left anterior central gyrus and posterior central gyrus. 2) CP. Based on the retrieved 92 articles, we identified 8 potential scalp acupuncture targets, the location of the acupuncture stimulation and the RANO, and CBRs respectively are as below. CP1: about 1 cun anterior-inferior to the left Xuanli (GB8); puncturing subcutaneously and backward-inwards; the left inferior frontal gyrus orbitalis and pars triangularis. CP2: about 0.5 cun posterior-superior to the left GB5; puncturing subcutaneously and forward-upward; the left anterior central gyrus and premotor area. CP3: about 0.5 cun posterior-superior to the left GB8; puncturing subcutaneously and forward; left inferior central area/central sulci operculum (second somatosensory area).3) APH. Based on the retrieved 82 papers, we identified 7 potential scalp acupuncture targets for APH, their locations, RANO, and CBRs respectively are as below. APH1: close to the left GB5; puncturing subcutaneously and forwarddownward; left subfrontal gyrus operculi/triangularis. APH2: about 0.5 cun posterior to the left Hanyan (GB4); puncturing subcutaneously and backward-upward; the left anterior central gyrus and posterior central gyrus. APH3: about 0.5 cun anterior-inferior to the left Qubin (GB7); puncturing subcutaneously and backward-downward; left medial/superior temporal gyrus. 4) DYS. Based on the retrieved 76 researches, we identified 8 potential scalp acupuncture targets for DYS, their locations, RANO and CBRs respectively are as below. DYS1: about 1 cun anterior-inferior to the left GB5; puncturing subcutaneously and forward-upward; the pars triangularis of the left inferior frontal gyrus. DYS2: about 0.5 cun posterior-superior to the left GB5; puncturing subcutaneously and forward-downward; the left subfrontal gyrus operculum, pars triangularis and anterior central gyrus. DYS3: the midpoint between the left GB5 and GB18; puncturing subcutaneously and forward; the left anterior central gyrus and posterior central gyrus.

We identified scalp acupuncture targets for several common neurological disorders based on neuroimaging evidence for clinical application and research. The proposed targets may also be used for treating these disorders using brain stimulation methods.