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Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is a potential early marker of cognitive decline and dementia. The amygdalohippocampal structure and function are closely related to cognitive decline, but few studies have investigated large‐scale amygdalohippocampal brain functional network connectivity in individuals with SCD. Here, we aim to explore how the dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) between the amygdalohippocampal complex and other brain networks contributes to the understanding of early cognitive decline. Independent component analysis (ICA) and dFNC analysis were applied to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from 66 individuals with SCD to extract the amygdalohippocampal complex and identify distinct connectivity states. Cognitive performance was assessed through a composite Z score derived from a battery of neuropsychological tests. Correlation analyses were performed to examine the associations between the dFNC patterns and cognitive performance. Three distinct dFNC states were identified, each characterized by varying levels of within‐ and inter‐network connectivity, with occurrences of 65%, 18%, and 17% respectively. Cognitive function, measured using a composite Z score, was positively correlated with amygdalohippocampal‐sensorimotor network (SM) and amygdalohippocampal‐visual network (VI) dFNC in State 2. Significant correlations were observed between the amygdalohippocampal complex and the left precentral gyrus (r = 0.517, FDR‐corrected p = 0.005), postcentral gyrus (r = 0.487, FDR‐corrected p = 0.034), and multiple visual network regions, including the lingual gyrus and lateral occipital cortex (all Ps < 0.05, FDR‐corrected). These associations remained significant after adjusting for sex and age. These findings extend the current understanding of amygdalohippocampal dysfunction in cognitive decline and demonstrate that cognitive function is associated with distinct large‐scale amygdalohippocampal network dynamics. This study reveals that Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD) is characterized by dynamic, state‐dependent connectivity changes in the amygdalohippocampal complex. These changes highlight compensatory and synchronized brain states, with implications for understanding early cognitive decline and informing potential biomarkers and intervention strategies.

Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Acupuncture has been used to control blood pressure in clinical, however, the high-quality clinical evidence is insufficient and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of electroacupuncture for patients with essential hypertension (EH) compared with sham electroacupuncture and explore the neural mechanism. his is an 8-week, parallel-grouped, randomized clinical trial. A total of 66 patients diagnosed with EH are randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either the electroacupuncture or sham electroacupuncture treatment 3 sessions per week for 4 weeks. The primary outcome is the mean systolic blood pressure change at week 4 from the baseline measurement. The independent sample t-test will be used to compare the differences between two groups. The secondary outcomes include the change in mean diastolic blood pressure, the proportion of patients with controlled blood pressure (< 140/90 mm Hg), and quality of life. The outcome variables are measured at baseline, week 2, week 4 and week 8. Functional magnetic resonance imaging scans, pulse rate variability acquisition, and image-based photoplethysmography recording are performed at baseline and the end of the intervention period to explore acupuncture-related neuroplasticity changes. Correlation analyses are performed to investigate the relationships between the neural changes and clinical symptoms. Adverse events during the trial are monitored. Chinese Clinical Trials Registry, the number is: ChiCTR2400082315 (https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=223840).

Chronic shoulder pain (CSP) is a common disease causing pain and functional limitation, which is highly prevalent and has substantial negative effects on the quality of life. Acupuncture has gained popularity and has been accepted gradually by many countries because it can successfully treat patients with chronic pain, but the specific brain mechanisms under acupuncture treatment for CSP remain unclear. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to 1) compare the clinical effects between acupuncture at the contralateral and ipsilateral Tiaokou (ST 38) point in patients with unilateral shoulder pain and 2) explore how contralateral- and ipsilateral-acupuncture modulates the regional homogeneity (ReHo) of patients with CSP. This was a pilot functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) trial. Twenty-four patients with CSP were recruited and randomized to the contralateral acupuncture group (contra-group) and the ipsilateral acupuncture group (ipsi-group). All patients completed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans before and after acupuncture treatment. Shoulder pain intensity (visual analog scale [VAS]) and shoulder joint function (Constant-Murley score [CMS]) were used to evaluate clinical efficiency of treatment. ReHo was used to assess resting-state brain activity. We found clinical improvement in decreasing pain intensity and increasing shoulder function in both groups, and the mean objective shoulder functional improvement in contra-group was better than that in ipsi-group ( = 0.010). Interestingly, the brain mechanism of contra-acupuncture at ST 38 was distinguishable from ipsi-acupuncture regarding ReHo values. Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) may play a direct role in the regulation of brain by the contralateral acupuncture at ST 38 in patients with shoulder pain. On the contrary, the pathway of brainstem-thalamus-cortex may be likely to work in mechanism of acupuncture at ipsilateral ST 38. Our results indicate that the clinical effects and brain mechanisms are different between the stimulation given at contralateral and ipsilateral acupoints in patients with CSP and imply that the selection of either contralateral or ipsilateral acupuncture therapy to treat some chronic pain conditions is necessary.

Recently, there have been many reports about abnormalities regarding structural and functional brain connectivity of the patients with primary insomnia. However, the alterations in functional interaction between the left and right cerebral hemispheres have not been well understood. The resting-state fMRI approach, which reveals spontaneous neural fluctuations in blood-oxygen-level-dependent signals, offers a method to quantify functional interactions between the hemispheres directly. We compared interhemispheric functional connectivity (FC) between 26 patients with primary insomnia (48.85 ± 12.02 years) and 28 healthy controls (49.07 ± 11.81 years) using a voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) method. The patients with primary insomnia and healthy controls were matched for age, gender, and education. Brain regions, which had significant differences in VMHC maps between the primary insomnia and healthy control groups, were defined as seed region of interests. A seed-based approach was further used to reveal significant differences of FC between the seeds and the whole contralateral hemisphere. The patients with primary insomnia showed higher VMHC than healthy controls in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) bilaterally. The seed-based analyses demonstrated increased FC between the left ACC and right thalamus (and the right ACC and left orbitofrontal cortex) in patients with primary insomnia, revealing abnormal connectivity between the two cerebral hemispheres. The VMHC values in the ACC were positively correlated with the time to fall asleep and Self-Rating Depression Scale scores (SDS). The results demonstrate that there is abnormal interhemispheric resting-state FC in the brain regions of patients with primary insomnia, especially in the ACC. Our finding demonstrates valid evidence that the ACC is an area of interest in the neurobiology of primary insomnia.

Chronic shoulder pain (CSP) is the third most common musculoskeletal problem. For maximum treatment effectiveness, most acupuncturists usually choose acupoint in the nonpainful side, to alleviate pain or improve shoulder function. This method is named opposite needling, which means acupuncture points on the right side are selected for diseases on the left side and vice versa. However, the underlying neural mechanisms related to treatment are currently unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine whether different mechanisms were observed with contralateral and ipsilateral acupuncture at Tiaokou (ST 38) in patients with unilateral CSP. Twenty-four patients were randomized to the contralateral acupuncture group (contra-group) and the ipsilateral acupuncture group (ipsi-group). The patients received one acupuncture treatment session at ST 38 on the nonpainful or painful sides, respectively. Before and after acupuncture treatment, they underwent functional magnetic resonance scanning. The treatment-related changes in degree centrality (DC) maps were compared between the two groups. We found alleviated pain and improved shoulder function in both groups, but better shoulder functional improvement was observed in the contra-group. Increased DC in the anterior/paracingulate cortex and decreased DC in bilateral postcentral gyri were found in the contra-group, while decreased DC in the bilateral cerebellum and right thalamus was observed in the ipsi-group. Furthermore, the DC value in the bilateral anterior/paracingulate cortex was positively correlated with the treatment-related change in the Constant–Murley score. The current study reveals different changes of DC patterns after acupuncture at contralateral or ipsilateral ST 38 in patients with CSP. Our findings support the hypothesis of acupoint specificity and provide the evidence for acupuncturists to select acupoints for CSP.

Chronic shoulder pain (CSP) is a common health problem associated with shoulder dysfunction and persistent pain for many different reasons. However, the studies of pain-related functional brain regions in CSP have been poorly investigated. The main purpose of our study was to observe whether there are abnormal functional changes in brain regions in patients with CSP by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We compared the differences of brain regions between 37 patients with CSP and 24 healthy controls (HC) using regional homogeneity (ReHo) method. The patients with chronic shoulder pain and healthy controls were matched for age and gender. Brain regions which had abnormal ReHo values were defined as seed region of interests. The approach of seed-based functional connectivity (FC) was further performed to analyze the connectivity between the seeds and whole brain regions. The relationship between abnormal regions and current clinical pain was also evaluated. Compared to healthy controls, the patients with CSP showed increased ReHo values in the left middle temporal gyrus and decreased ReHo values in right orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). The seed-based analyses demonstrated decreased connectivity between the right OFC and right rectus, superior frontal gyrus in patients with chronic shoulder pain. However, a correlation between ReHo values and clinical characteristics in CSP patients was not found. The observed results indicate that there are abnormal ReHo values in brain regions of patients with CSP, especially in the OFC and middle temporal gyrus. Our findings demonstrate that the experience of CSP patients may be mainly associated with cognitive-affective pain processing, rather than nociception.

Phase‐pure two‐dimensional (2D) interfacial passivation has emerged as an effective strategy for addressing the intrinsic instability and interfacial defects of three‐dimensional (3D) perovskite absorbers. However, conventionally formed 2D layers often suffer from mixed‐ n phases, heterogeneous quantum‐well distributions, and disordered orientation, which impede charge transport, distort energy‐level alignment, and accelerate structural degradation. In this review, we elucidate the thermodynamic and kinetic origins of mixed‐phase formation and discuss how dimensional heterogeneity adversely impacts carrier dynamics and device stability. We then summarize recent advances in achieving phase‐pure 2D perovskite interlayers that enable precise n ‐value control, favorable crystal orientation, and optimized interfacial energetics. These strategies yield highly ordered 2D/3D heterostructures that effectively suppress ion migration, mitigate non‐radiative recombination, and significantly enhance long‐term operational stability. Finally, we outline the remaining challenges and emerging opportunities for scalable, phase‐pure engineering toward high‐efficiency and stable perovskite photovoltaic technologies. Overall, this review provides a unified framework linking phase purity, interfacial ordering, and device stability, offering guidance for the development of next‐generation robust perovskite photovoltaics.

IntroductionHypertension is a common risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) may be effective for hypertension, but the evidence remains limited. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the smart phone-based TEAS as adjunctive therapy for hypertension.Methods and analysisThis study is a 52-week cluster randomised controlled trial with 1600 hypertension patients in 32 community health service centres. Patients who meet the inclusion criteria will be randomised into usual care group or TEAS group in a 1:1 ratio. All patients will be provided with usual care as recommended by the guidelines. In addition to this, patients in the TEAS group will receive non-invasive acupoint electrical stimulation for 30 min at home, 4 times weekly for 12 weeks. The primary outcome will be the mean difference in the changes in office systolic blood pressure from baseline to 12 weeks between TEAS and usual care groups. Secondary outcomes will include the change of mean diastolic blood pressure, proportion of patients with controlled blood pressure (blood pressure <140/90 mm Hg), proportion of patients taking antihypertensive drugs, change in number of antihypertensive drugs and changes in 12-item Short-Form. Tertiary outcomes will include change in body mass index, change in waist circumference, physical activity and medication adherence. Safety outcomes will be any serious adverse events and clinical events.Ethics and disseminationThis study has been approved by ethics committee of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (No. 2020BZHYLL0104). Written informed consent will be obtained from all patients before randomisation. Trial results will be disseminated in peer-reviewed publications.Trial registration numberChiCTR2000039400.