Functional Connectivity Changes of Primary Somatosensory Cortex in Response to Acupuncturing in Bell’s Palsy Patients

Bell’s palsy (BP), an idiopathic and unilateral facial paralysis, is frequently treated byacupuncture in Asia.This study aims to investigate the connectivity changes of the primary somatosensory cortex (SI) induced by acupuncturing atipsilateral and contralateral Hegu acupoints ofBP patients. Fifteen healthy volunteers and thirty BP patients were recruited, who underwent theresting-state functional MRI scanning before and after acupuncture.All subjects received acupuncturetreatment at eitheripsilateral or contralateral Hegu acupoint. Functional connectivity of bilateral SI was calculated for further intergroup analysis.The results showed significant functional connectivity alterations in the contralateral acupoint group (P<0.01) while no significant alterations were observed in neither the ipsilateral acupoint groupsnor the healthy control groups. For the SI connectivity alteration, a significant difference was observed between the contralateral group and the ipsilateral group (P<0.01).These results suggested that acupuncturing atthe contralateral and ipsilateral Hegu acupoint could induce different alterations in functional connectivity in recovery from BP. Therefore,the recovery mechanism of acupuncturing mightvary from side to side.