TY - JOUR
T1 - Revealing the Neural Mechanisms Underlying the Beneficial Effects of Tai Chi
T2 - A Neuroimaging Perspective
AU - Yu, Angus P.
AU - Tam, Bjorn T.
AU - Lai, Christopher W.
AU - Yu, Doris S.
AU - Woo, Jean
AU - Chung, Ka Fai
AU - Hui, Stanley S.
AU - Liu, Justina Y.
AU - Wei, Gao X.
AU - Siu, Parco M.
N1 - Funding information:
The authors apologized to the researchers whose scientific contributions were not included in this paper owing to the space constraint. During the writing process of this paper, the related research works of P.M. Siu were supported by Health and Medical Research Funds (11122361 and 12131841) of Food and Health Bureau, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the People’s Republic of China and the University of Hong Kong Seed Fund for Basic Research.
Publisher copyright:
© 2018 World Scientific Publishing Company
PY - 2018/1
Y1 - 2018/1
N2 - Tai Chi Chuan (TCC), a traditional Chinese martial art, is well-documented to result in beneficial consequences in physical and mental health. TCC is regarded as a mind-body exercise that is comprised of physical exercise and meditation. Favorable effects of TCC on body balance, gait, bone mineral density, metabolic parameters, anxiety, depression, cognitive function, and sleep have been previously reported. However, the underlying mechanisms explaining the effects of TCC remain largely unclear. Recently, advances in neuroimaging technology have offered new investigative opportunities to reveal the effects of TCC on anatomical morphologies and neurological activities in different regions of the brain. These neuroimaging findings have provided new clues for revealing the mechanisms behind the observed effects of TCC. In this review paper, we discussed the possible effects of TCC-induced modulation of brain morphology, functional homogeneity and connectivity, regional activity and macro-scale network activity on health. Moreover, we identified possible links between the alterations in brain and beneficial effects of TCC, such as improved motor functions, pain perception, metabolic profile, cognitive functions, mental health and sleep quality. This paper aimed to stimulate further mechanistic neuroimaging studies in TCC and its effects on brain morphology, functional homogeneity and connectivity, regional activity and macro-scale network activity, which ultimately lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the beneficial effects of TCC on human health.
AB - Tai Chi Chuan (TCC), a traditional Chinese martial art, is well-documented to result in beneficial consequences in physical and mental health. TCC is regarded as a mind-body exercise that is comprised of physical exercise and meditation. Favorable effects of TCC on body balance, gait, bone mineral density, metabolic parameters, anxiety, depression, cognitive function, and sleep have been previously reported. However, the underlying mechanisms explaining the effects of TCC remain largely unclear. Recently, advances in neuroimaging technology have offered new investigative opportunities to reveal the effects of TCC on anatomical morphologies and neurological activities in different regions of the brain. These neuroimaging findings have provided new clues for revealing the mechanisms behind the observed effects of TCC. In this review paper, we discussed the possible effects of TCC-induced modulation of brain morphology, functional homogeneity and connectivity, regional activity and macro-scale network activity on health. Moreover, we identified possible links between the alterations in brain and beneficial effects of TCC, such as improved motor functions, pain perception, metabolic profile, cognitive functions, mental health and sleep quality. This paper aimed to stimulate further mechanistic neuroimaging studies in TCC and its effects on brain morphology, functional homogeneity and connectivity, regional activity and macro-scale network activity, which ultimately lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the beneficial effects of TCC on human health.
KW - Traditional Chinese Exercise
KW - Cognitive Function
KW - Mood
KW - Pain
KW - Review
UR - http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/29542330
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85044119371&doi=10.1142%2fS0192415X18500131&partnerID=40&md5=f1445994439cb149e4b7010f7e437c5a
U2 - 10.1142/s0192415x18500131
DO - 10.1142/s0192415x18500131
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 29542330
SN - 0192-415X
VL - 46
SP - 231
EP - 259
JO - The American Journal of Chinese Medicine
JF - The American Journal of Chinese Medicine
IS - 2
ER -