Acupuncture Combined with Rehabilitation Outperforms Standard Therapy for Post-Stroke Motor Aphasia, with Neuroimaging Evidence

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This randomised clinical trial investigated whether adding scalp acupoint cluster acupuncture to conventional rehabilitation improves language recovery in patients with motor aphasia following ischaemic stroke. Twenty-six patients were randomly assigned in equal numbers to either an acupuncture-plus-rehabilitation group or a conventional rehabilitation group, and compared against twenty-six healthy controls matched for age and sex.

Both groups underwent four weeks of treatment. The conventional rehabilitation group received standard care and language training, while the acupuncture-plus-rehabilitation group received the same programme with the addition of scalp acupoint cluster acupuncture. Language function was measured using Aphasia Quotient scores and sub-items, and brain activity was assessed using blood oxygenation level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging before and after the intervention.

Both groups showed significant improvements in language scores after treatment. However, the acupuncture-plus-rehabilitation group achieved greater gains in overall Aphasia Quotient scores and spontaneous speech compared to conventional rehabilitation alone. Neuroimaging revealed that acupuncture-plus-rehabilitation increased brain activity in the left inferior temporal gyrus and altered regional homogeneity in the left anterior central gyrus. Functional connectivity between the left Broca’s area and the right precentral gyrus decreased in the acupuncture-plus-rehabilitation group, suggesting a rebalancing of activity between the two brain hemispheres. The researchers propose that acupuncture may promote recovery by activating left hemisphere language regions and reducing compensatory over-reliance on the right hemisphere.

Conclusion: Acupuncture combined with conventional rehabilitation demonstrated superior efficacy over rehabilitation alone for motor aphasia after ischaemic stroke, with neuroimaging evidence pointing to beneficial changes in hemispheric functional balance as a likely underlying mechanism.

Source: Liu TT, Ren M, Wang J and colleagues. Brain imaging and behavior (2026). View on PubMed (PMID 42961600) · doi:10.1007/s11682-026-01155-5

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