针刺健康人足三里穴脑功能成像研究初步分析

目的采用磁共振脑功能成像（fMRI）技术观察针刺足三里穴引起脑内功能区的变化,并与近年来相关的研究结果比较,分析研究存在差异的原因。方法15例健康志愿者,采用改良组块设计方案,针刺左侧足三里穴进行fMRI扫描,实验数据采用AFNI软件分析处理,采用Monte Carlo模拟阈值校正方法（P〈0.05,α〈0.05）确定脑功能激活区。结果针刺左侧足三里穴引起双侧海马旁回、额中回、扣带回前部、右侧颞叶、海马、杏仁核、左侧额下回、右侧小脑及脑桥区域信号减弱,右侧中央前回及右侧顶下小叶区域信号增高。结论针刺正常人左侧足三里穴主要引起颞叶和边缘系统的脑功能变化,并且以信号减弱为主。与其他类似研究的结果有较明显的差异,这种差异可能与多种因素有关,有待进一步深入研究分析。     

针刺穴位的脑功能磁共振成像研究——针刺中渚穴和阳陵泉穴与大脑皮质兴奋性的关系

目的 应用功能性磁共振成像(fMRI)技术观察针刺手少阳经中渚穴(SJ3)和足少阳经阳陵泉穴(GB34)时大脑皮质兴奋区的分布特点,初步探讨经络、穴位作用的中枢机制以及针刺穴位过程中,不同针灸刺激时相对大脑皮质兴奋性的影响.方法 将42例健康受试者(右利手)随机分为SJ3和GB34两组,利用fMRI技术实时动态扫描针刺SJ3和GB34时脑功能区的变化,最终所获得的数据采用SPM2软件包分析其作用部位.结果 针刺SJ3引起的脑内主要兴奋区依次为双侧的额叶、颞叶、小脑和枕叶,针刺GB34引起的主要兴奋区依次为双侧的枕叶、小脑、额叶和颞叶.结论 针刺SJ3和GB34时均可引起双侧听觉、视觉相关大脑皮质和双侧躯体运动区大脑皮质及小脑兴奋,这可能是临床治疗相关病症的中枢作用基础.     

肝豆状核变性T淋巴细胞亚群及NK细胞的变化

目的 研究肝豆状核变性(Wilson病,WD)患者的T淋巴细胞亚群及NK细胞亚群变化,并探讨其临床意义.方法 应用流式细胞仪直接免疫荧光染色法测定49例WD患者外周血T淋巴细胞亚群及NK细胞亚群,并与健康人组进行对照,同时对不同Child-Pugh分级患者的T细胞亚群及NK细胞进行比较分析.结果 WD组CD3+、CD4+、CD8+、CD4+/CD8+较对照组水平无明显变化,NK水平较对照组降低(P<0.05);病情重者CD3+、CD4+、CD4+/CD8+水平仍无差异,随病情加重NK水平显著降低(P<0.01).结论 WD存在NK细胞免疫失调,而T淋巴细胞免疫功能正常,病情重的患者NK细胞免疫功能更低.     

病毒性脑炎患儿细胞因子和免疫功能的临床研究

目的探讨病毒性脑炎患儿细胞因子和免疫功能的表达。方法选择单纯肠道病毒感染患儿30例,合并病毒性脑炎患儿30例。检测第1、14天白介素-2(IL-2)、白介素-6(IL-6)、肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α),CD3~+T细胞,NK细胞相对活性及外周血CD4~+/CD8~+比值,分析其与疾病进展的相关性。结果单纯肠道病毒感染组入院第1天血清IL-2、IL-6和TNF-α水平显著增加,同时CD3~+T细胞,NK细胞相对活性及外周血CD4~+/CD8~+比值显著下降,与合并脑炎患儿相比更显著;治疗第14天单纯组血清IL-2、IL-6和TNF-α水平较第1天均显著降低,与合并脑炎患儿相比更显著(P0.05);CD3~+T细胞,NK细胞活性及外周血CD4~+/CD8~+比值明显升高,与合并脑炎患儿相比更显著(P0.05)。结论免疫因素在病毒性脑炎发病机制中起着重要作用,肠道病毒感染导致炎症反应和免疫失衡。     

抽动障碍患儿免疫功能检测与其临床意义

目的　观察抽动障碍患儿外周血 T淋巴细胞亚群、自然杀伤细胞和体液免疫 ( Ig A,Ig G,Ig M)功能。方法　应用直接免疫荧光染色法 ,采用流式细胞术分别测定 3 0例抽动障碍患儿和 2 0名健康对照组儿童外周血 T淋巴细胞亚群、自然杀伤细胞。并用免疫透射比浊法测定患儿的体液免疫 ( Ig A、Ig G、Ig M)功能。比较两组的检测结果。结果　抽动障碍患儿外周血 CD4+细胞百分比、CD4+ /CD8+细胞比值和自然杀伤 ( NK)阳性细胞百分比分别为 ( 2 6.89± 9.0 8) %、( 0 .88± 0 .3 5 ) %、( 9.61± 6.45 ) % ,较对照组 ( 3 8.3 1± 6.95 ) %、( 1 .5 8± 0 .2 9) %、( 1 4.83±4.1 6) %明显降低 ,CD8+ 细胞百分比 [( 3 2 .5 8± 9.0 4) % ]较对照组 [( 2 4.82± 5 .5 4) % ]明显升高 ,而体液免疫Ig A、Ig G、Ig M含量与对照组比较则差异无显著性。结论　抽动障碍患儿存在细胞免疫功能紊乱 ,表现为 T淋巴细胞亚群平衡失调和自然杀伤细胞阳性率低。提示细胞免疫功能紊乱可能与某些儿童易患抽动障碍有关。     

低温对实验型颅脑损伤大鼠免疫功能的影响

目的：研究不同低温状态下实验颅脑损伤大鼠免疫功能的动态变化,方法;采用^3H-TdR掺入法,LDH释放法及流式细胞术分别检测实验型液压颅脑损伤大鼠不同低温处后脾脏T,B淋巴细胞转化功能,NK细胞活性及外周血T细胞亚群的动态变化,结果,与颅脑损伤常温（37℃）组相比,损伤27℃组伤后1天B细胞转化率,NK细胞活性,伤后3天T细胞转化率降低,T细胞亚群CD3细胞伤后1天降低,损伤33℃组伤后1天B细胞转化率降低,伤后3天CD4／CD8升高,结论：（1）27℃低温对实验型颅脑伤大鼠免疫功能有抑制作用,（2）33℃低温不影响实验型颅服损伤大鼠细胞免疫,但对介导体液免疫的B细胞功能有一定的可逆性损害作用。     

重症肌无力患者外周血调节性T细胞及B细胞激活因子受体的分析

目的 研究重症肌无力(MG)患者外周血多群调节性T细胞的水平及其B细胞表达B细胞激活因子受体(B cell-activating factor receptor,BAFF-R)的情况.方法 应用四色流式细胞仪检测61例MG患者与23名健康对照外周血调节性T细胞(CD4+ CD25 high Foxp3+、CD8+ CD28-、CD8+ CD122+)以及CD19+ BAFF-R+细胞的百分率.结果 MG组与健康对照组外周血CD4+ CD25 high Foxp3+ T细胞的百分率分别为32.12%±16.12%与65.15%±14.72%,MG组该群调节性T细胞的水平明显低于健康对照组(P＜0.01);两组CD8+ CD28-及CD8+ CD122+ T细胞的水平差异无统计学意义.此外,MG组外周血CD19+ BAFF-R+细胞的水平(10.57%±5.59%)显著高于健康对照组(5.38%±3.87%,P＜0.01).大剂量激素或大剂量激素加丙种球蛋白治疗后短期内可使MG组外周血CD4+ CD25 high Foxp3+调节性T细胞的百分率增加(P＜0.05).结论 MG患者Foxp3+的CD4+ CD25 high调节性T细胞的减少提示MG患者存在免疫和耐受的失衡,显示了T细胞的自身免疫性.在B细胞方面,MG患者外周血CD19+ B细胞上BAFF-R表达增高,提示其体内B细胞已处于易激活状态.     

特发性震颤患者静息态脑功能活动

目的探索特发性震颤(ET)患者在静息态fMRI中的脑自发活动异常。方法纳入2015年6月-2016年6月在成都市第一人民医院就诊的16例ET患者为患者组,同期招募与患者组性别、年龄匹配的16例健康对照组。对两组进行静息态功能磁共振成像(fMRI)扫描,分析两组fMRI信号低频振幅(ALFF)的差异。结果①两组被试的年龄、性别差异均无统计学意义(P均0.05)。②与对照组相比,ET患者组双侧中央前后回及辅助运动区的ALFF值增高,而双侧小脑半球及小脑蚓部的ALFF值降低,差异均有统计学意义(P均0.05,FDR校正);右侧小脑半球的ALFF值与患者病程呈负相关(r=-0.643,P=0.007)。结论静息态fMRI技术能有效检测ET患者的小脑-运动皮层环路异常,且震颤病程的加长可能会加重小脑自发性活动低频振荡特征的改变。     

抑郁症患者淋巴细胞亚群免疫表型分析

目的探索抑郁症患者的淋巴细胞亚群免疫表型并比较不同程度抑郁症患者的淋巴细胞亚群免疫表型,为抑郁症的发生机制及诊疗提供参考。方法通过整群抽样方法抽取某三甲医院符合《国际疾病分类(第10版)》(ICD-10)诊断标准的抑郁症患者110例为患者组,其中轻度组34例,中度组38例,重度组38例。同期在绵阳市第三人民医院随机抽取60名健康体检者为对照组。采用流式细胞术对所有研究对象的血液标本进行淋巴细胞亚群检测。结果患者组CD3~+T细胞、CD3~+CD4~+T细胞、CD3-CD56~+CD16~+NK细胞的比例和绝对值均低于对照组,重度组低于轻、中度组,中度组低于轻度组,差异均有统计学意义(P均0.05);患者组CD4~+/CD8~+比值低于对照组,重度组低于轻、中度组,中度组低于轻度组,差异均有统计学意义(P均0.05);患者组CD3~+CD8~+T细胞的比例和绝对值高于对照组,重度组高于轻、中度组,中度组高于轻度组,差异均有统计学意义(P均0.05)。结论抑郁症患者的CD3~+T细胞、CD3~+CD4~+T细胞、CD3-CD56~+CD16~+NK细胞比例和绝对值较健康人群低,而CD3~+CD8~+T细胞比例和绝对值较健康人群高,且不同程度抑郁症患者的CD3~+T细胞、CD3~+CD4~+T细胞、CD3~+CD8~+T细胞及CD3-CD56~+CD16~+NK细胞比例和绝对值存在差异。     

嗅觉刺激偏头痛患者的脑功能磁共振成像初步研究

目的观察偏头痛患者在嗅觉刺激下的脑功能磁共振成像(fMRI)变化, 分析其嗅觉相关脑网络特征。方法收集2021 年 1 月至 2022 年 1 月在川北医学院附属医院神经内科门诊确诊的27例偏头痛患者, 同期招募20名健康成年人作为对照组。收集所有受试者的人口学和临床特征资料。对所有受试者在嗅觉任务刺激下行同步fMRI扫描, 使用SPM12、Matlab2019b软件进行磁共振图像数据处理, 并结合SPSS 23.0软件进行统计学分析。结果对照组激活脑区包括左侧小脑、左侧颞下回、左侧梭状回、右侧额中回、右侧中央前回、脑岛、右侧中央沟盖、缘上回、右侧豆状壳核、中扣带回、中央旁小叶、顶上回(P<0.05)。偏头痛组激活脑区包括左侧小脑、右侧梭状回、右侧颞下回、右侧中央前回、右侧中央后回(P<0.05)。两组相比, 偏头痛组在右侧岛叶、右侧额中回眶部、左侧额下回眶部、右侧背外侧额上回、右侧颞上回、右侧枕上回、内侧和旁扣带脑回、右侧顶上回的激活强度弱于对照组(P<0.05)。结论偏头痛患者有多个脑区参与嗅觉处理, 存在特殊性的嗅觉相关脑网络。     

针刺外关穴的脑区激活：功能磁共振成像证据

Objective: To observe the cerebral activation of needling Waiguan (SJ5) by fMRI with the controlled studies of sham needling and needling in a sham point. Methods: Eighteen volunteers were randomly divided into 3 groups of true needling in true acupoint Waiguan (SJ5)(group A), sham needling in true acupoint SJ5 (group B) and true needling in a sham point (group C). During the stimulation, each subject received fMRI functional cerebral imaging scan. The collected data were processed by SPM2. Results: Compared with sham needling, true needling in SJ5 could activate the areas of BA8 and left cerebellum; Compared with needling in the sham point, needling in SJ5 could activate the areas of BA2 and bilateral cerebellum. Conclusion: Needling in SJ5 acupoint activated different cerebral areas compared with sham needling in the same acupoint or true needling in a sham acupoint based on the scanning of fMRI cerebral functional imaging.     

年轻人与老年人简单乘法运算之功能磁共振成像研究

目的应用fMRI技术探讨中国青年和老年人群在简单运算任务下脑激活模式及其与行为学之间的关系。方法分别对青年组(19例)和老年组(20例)健康志愿者进行对照任务和简单运算任务下的fMRI检查。结果两组受试者受教育程度(P=0.125)、智力水平(P=0.921),以及完成对照任务(P=0.142)和简单乘法运算任务(P=0.880)之正确率差异无统计学意义,但老年组受试者完成对照任务(P=0.000)和简单乘法运算任务(P=0.005)反应时间明显延长。青年组受试者在任务刺激下可激活右侧缘上回并向顶内沟和颞中上回后部延伸,中央前回和运动前区、前额叶,左侧缘上回并向颞上回后部和角回延伸,顶内沟区域、颞中下回,内侧后扣带回、楔前叶、辅助运动区、海马沟、海马旁回及前额叶内侧;老年组受试者则分别激活右侧缘上回和顶下区域并向颞中上回后部延伸,中央前回和运动前区、前额叶,左侧缘上回和角回并向顶下延伸,中央前回和运动前区、岛叶及前额叶,内侧后扣带回和中央旁小叶、前扣带回及前额叶内侧;两组受试者共激活脑区包括顶下区域、楔前叶、中央前后回和额顶叶网络,以及颞叶、海马旁回、钩回、屏状核和后扣带回等皮质下结构。结论数学事实提取相关网络的主要成分受年龄影响较小,老年人群的任务激活脑区主要向任务相关顶区集中。     

The salient characteristics of the central effects of acupuncture needling: limbic-paralimbic-neocortical network modulation

Human and animal studies suggest that acupuncture produces many beneficial effects through the central nervous system. However, the neural substrates of acupuncture actions are not completely clear to date. fMRI studies at Hegu (LI4) and Zusanli (ST36) indicated that the limbic system may play an important role for acupuncture effects. To test if this finding applies to other major classical acupoints, fMRI was performed on 10 healthy adults during manual acupuncture at Taichong (LV3), Xingjian (LV2), Neiting (ST44), and a sham point on the dorsum of the left foot. Although certain differences could be observed between real and sham points, the hemodynamic response (BOLD signal changes) and psychophysical response (sensory experience) to acupuncture were generally similar for all four points. Acupuncture produced extensive deactivation of the limbic-paralimbic-neocortical system. Clusters of deactivated regions were seen in the medial prefrontal cortex (frontal pole, pregenual cingulate), the temporal lobe (amygdala, hippocampus, and parahippocampus) and the posterior medial cortex (precuneus, posterior cingulate). The sensorimotor cortices (somatosensory cortices, supplementary motor cortex), thalamus and occasional paralimbic structures such as the insula and anterior middle cingulate cortex showed activation. Our results provide additional evidence in support of previous reports that acupuncture modulates the limbic-paralimbic-neocortical network. We hypothesize that acupuncture may mediate its antipain, antianxiety, and other therapeutic effects via this intrinsic neural circuit that plays a central role in the affective and cognitive dimensions of pain as well as in the regulation and integration of emotion, memory processing, autonomic, endocrine, immunological, and sensorimotor functions.     

Abnormal functional connectivity in patients with vascular cognitive impairment, no dementia: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study

The functional connectivity (FC) method was used to investigate the changes in the resting state of patients with vascular cognitive impairment, no dementia (VCIND). Resting-state functional magnetic resonance images (fMRIs) were acquired from 16 patients with subcortical ischemic vascular disease (SIVD) who fulfilled the criteria for VCIND, as well as 18 age- and sex-matched subjects with SIVD with no cognitive impairment (control group). Posterior cingulate cortex connectivity was gathered by investigating synchronic low-frequency fMRI signal fluctuations with a temporal correlation method. Compared with the control group, the patients showed FC decrease in the left middle temporal gyrus, the left anterior cingulate/left middle frontal gyrus, the right caudate, the right middle frontal gyrus, and the left medial frontal gyrus/paracentral lobule. There were also some regions that showed increased connectivity. These regions included the right inferior temporal gyrus, the left middle temporal gyrus, the left precentral gyrus, and the left superior parietal lobule. Our findings revealed the change in resting-state patterns of neuronal activity in patients with VCIND. This change may be caused by subcortical white matter lesions that destroyed direct and indirect fiber tract connectivity across the cerebral white matter and influenced the cortical FC and hypoperfusion resulted from small vascular disease. The results of the increased connectivity may be evoked by the compensatory recruitment and plasticity mechanism. Our findings suggest that the simplicity and noninvasiveness of this method makes it a potential tool to help thoroughly understand the pathogenesis of VCIND.     

Relations between brain network activation and analgesic effect induced by low vs. high frequency electrical acupoint stimulation in different subjects: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study

Two- or 100-Hz electrical acupoint stimulation (EAS) can induce analgesia via distinct central mechanisms. It has long been known that the extent of EAS analgesia showed tremendous difference among subjects. Functional MRI (fMRI) studies were performed to allocate the possible mechanisms underlying the frequency specificity as well as individual variability of EAS analgesia. In either frequencies, the averaged fMRI activation levels of bilateral secondary somatosensory area and insula, contralateral anterior cingulate cortex and thalamus were positively correlated with the EAS-induced analgesic effect across the subjects. In 2-Hz EAS group, positive correlations were observed in contralateral primary motor area, supplementary motor area, and ipsilateral superior temporal gyrus, while negative correlations were found in bilateral hippocampus. In 100-Hz EAS group, positive correlations were observed in contralateral inferior parietal lobule, ipsilateral anterior cingulate cortex, nucleus accumbens, and pons, while negative correlation was detected in contralateral amygdala. These results suggest that functional activities of certain brain areas might be correlated with the effect of EAS-induced analgesia, in a frequency-dependent dynamic. EAS-induced analgesia with low and high frequencies seems to be mediated by different, though overlapped, brain networks. The differential activations/de-activations in brain networks across subjects may provide a neurobiological explanation for the mechanisms of the induction and the individual variability of analgesic effect induced by EAS, or that of manual acupuncture as well.     

Effects of electroacupuncture versus manual acupuncture on the human brain as measured by fMRI

The goal of this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was to compare the central effects of electroacupuncture at different frequencies with traditional Chinese manual acupuncture. Although not as time-tested as manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture does have the advantage of setting stimulation frequency and intensity objectively and quantifiably. Manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture at 2 Hz and 100 Hz, and tactile control stimulation were carried out at acupoint ST-36. Overall, electroacupuncture (particularly at low frequency) produced more widespread fMRI signal increase than manual acupuncture did, and all acupuncture stimulations produced more widespread responses than did our placebo-like tactile control stimulation. Acupuncture produced hemodynamic signal increase in the anterior insula, and decrease in limbic and paralimbic structures including the amygdala, anterior hippocampus, and the cortices of the subgenual and retrosplenial cingulate, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, frontal, and temporal poles, results not seen for tactile control stimulation. Only electroacupuncture produced significant signal increase in the anterior middle cingulate cortex, whereas 2-Hz electroacupuncture produced signal increase in the pontine raphe area. All forms of stimulation (acupuncture and control) produced signal increase in SII. These findings support a hypothesis that the limbic system is central to acupuncture effect regardless of specific acupuncture modality, although some differences do exist in the underlying neurobiologic mechanisms for these modalities, and may aid in optimizing their future usage in clinical applications.     

Long-term acupuncture treatment has a multi-targeting regulation on multiple brain regions in rats with Alzheimer's disease: a positron emission tomography study

The acute effect of acupuncture on Alzheimer’s disease,i.e.,on brain activation during treatment,has been reported.However,the effect of long-term acupuncture on brain activation in Alzheimer’s disease is unclear.Therefore,in this study,we performed long-term needling at Zusanli(ST36)or a sham point(1.5 mm lateral to ST36)in a rat Alzheimer’s disease model,for 30 minutes,once per day,for 30 days.The rats underwent 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography scanning.Positron emission tomography images were processed with SPM2.The brain areas activated after needling at ST36 included the left hippocampus,the left orbital cortex,the left infralimbic cortex,the left olfactory cortex,the left cerebellum and the left pons.In the sham-point group,the activated regions were similar to those in the ST36 group.However,the ST36 group showed greater activation in the cerebellum and pons than the sham-point group.These findings suggest that long-term acupuncture treatment has targeted regulatory effects on multiple brain regions in rats with Alzheimer’s disease.     

fMRI investigation of speed-accuracy strategy switching

Switching between rapid and accurate responses is an important aspect of decision-making. However, the brain mechanisms important to smoothly change the speed-accuracy strategy remain mostly unclear. This issue was addressed here by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). On each trial, right-handed healthy participants had to stress speed or accuracy in performing a color discrimination task on a target stimulus according to the instructions given by an initial cue. Participants were capable of trading speed for accuracy and vice versa. Analyses of cue-related fMRI activations revealed a significant recruitment of left middle frontal gyrus and right cerebellum when switching from speed to accuracy. The left superior parietal lobule was activated in the same switching condition but only after the target onset. The anterior cingulate cortex was more recruited, also after target presentation, when speed had to be maintained from one trial to the next. These results are interpreted within a theoretical framework that attributes a role in criterion-setting to the left lateral prefrontal cortex, perceptual evidence accumulation to the superior parietal lobule, and action energization to the anterior cingulate cortex, extending previous findings to the domain of speed-accuracy tradeoff regulations.     

The burden of microstructural damage modulates cortical activation in elderly subjects with MCI and leuko‐araiosis. A DTI and fMRI study

The term leuko‐araiosis (LA) describes a common chronic affection of the cerebral white matter (WM) in the elderly due to small vessel disease with variable clinical correlates. To explore whether severity of LA entails some adaptive reorganization in the cerebral cortex we evaluated with functional MRI (fMRI) the cortical activation pattern during a simple motor task in 60 subjects with mild cognitive impairment and moderate or severe (moderate‐to‐severe LA group, n = 46) and mild (mild LA group, n = 14) LA extension on visual rating. The microstructural damage associated with LA was measured on diffusion tensor data by computation of the mean diffusivity (MD) of the cerebral WM and by applying tract based spatial statistics (TBSS). Subjects were examined with fMRI during continuous tapping of the right dominant hand with task performance measurement. Moderate‐to‐severe LA group showed hyperactivation of left primary sensorimotor cortex (SM1) and right cerebellum. Regression analyses using the individual median of WM MD as explanatory variable revealed a posterior shift of activation within the left SM1 and hyperactivation of the left SMA and paracentral lobule and of the bilateral cerebellar crus. These data indicate that brain activation is modulated by increasing severity of LA with a local remapping within the SM1 and increased activity in ipsilateral nonprimary sensorimotor cortex and bilateral cerebellum. These potentially adaptive changes as well lack of contralateral cerebral hemisphere hyperactivation are in line with sparing of the U fibers and brainstem and cerebellar WM tracts and the emerging microstructual damage of the corpus callosum revealed by TBSS with increasing severity of LA. Hum Brain Mapp 35:819–830, 2014. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Cerebellar activation and lateralization during verbal and visuospatial tasks as revealed by fMRI

BACKGROUND: Many studies concerning cerebral activation and lateralization of cognitive functions are being conducted. Cerebellar function has been much researched with reference to high-level cognitive processing, but has been barely researched in systematization and diversification. In particular, cerebellar lateralization has never been researched, in comparison to cerebral lateralization for which reliable results have been reported. OBJECTIVE: This study ascertains cerebellar activation and its lateralization in relation to verbal and visuospatial tasks, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). DESIGN, TIME, AND SETTING: A block design for functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) observation. This study was performed at the fMRI Laboratory, Brain Science Research Center, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology from May 2006 to September 2008. PARTICIPANTS: Sixteen healthy male college students (23.3 ± 0.5 years) and another sixteen healthy male college students (21.5 ± 2.3 years) participated in this fMRI study of verbal and visuospatial tasks, respectively. METHODS: The verbal and visuospatial tasks were presented while functional brain images were acquired using a 3T fMRI system (ISOL Technology, Korea). The verbal analogy testing required the subject to select the word which had the same relationship as one of the given words. The verbal antonym testing required the subject to select the word which had a different meaning among 4 words. The visuospatial tasks involved selecting a shape that corresponded to a given figure using four examples, as well as selecting a development figure of a diagram. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The double subtraction method was used to analyze the differences of the cerebellar activation between the two cognition tasks. The numbers of activated voxels were calculated in bilateral cerebellums for the two tasks. The lateralization index of the cerebellum was calculated for each task. RESULTS: The bilateral hemisphere lobule VI and IX, the right hemisphere lobule VIII, the bilateral hemisphere lobule crus I, and the vermis lobule IV, V and VI are closely related to verbal tasks in comparison to visuospatial tasks. Conversely, the bilateral hemisphere lobule IV and V, and the right hemisphere lobule VI were closely related to visuospatial tasks compared to verbal tasks. There was no great difference between the bilateral cerebellums in the numbers of activated voxels for the tasks and cerebellar lateralization was not observed. CONCLUSION: In the case of the cerebellum, the activation region was different between the verbal and visuospatial tasks, but lateralization was not different.