Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34007290›Full record

ReviewEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2021

The Effect of Tai Chi Chuan on Emotional Health: Potential Mechanisms and Prefrontal Cortex Hypothesis.

Ying Yao, Likun Ge, Qian Yu, Xiaohong Du, Xiangyang Zhang, Ruth Taylor-Piliae, Gao-Xia Wei

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 12 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
31citing papers in PubMed, 12 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

31 citing papers in PubMed, 12 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  19. The Science of Tai Chi andJournal of integrative and complementary medicine · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Ying YaoKey Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4046-8690
Likun GeKey Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1593-3466
Qian YuDepartment of Child Rehabilitation, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8882-1994
Xiaohong DuCollege of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9658-9547
Xiangyang ZhangKey Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3326-382X
Ruth Taylor-PiliaeCollege of Nursing, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8056-6327
Gao-Xia WeiKey Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6350-9096

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Deep involvement in the negative mood over long periods of time likely results in emotional disturbances/disorders and poor mental health. Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) is regarded as a typical mind-body practice combining aerobic exercise and meditation to prevent and treat negative mood. Although there are an increasing number of TCC studies examining anxiety, depression, and mental stress, the mechanisms underlying these negative emotions are not fully understood. This review study examined TCC studies related to emotional health from both clinical patients and healthy individuals. Next, several potential mechanisms from physiological, psychological, and neurological perspectives were evaluated based on direct and indirect research evidence. We reviewed recent functional magnetic resonance imaging studies, which demonstrated changes in brain anatomy and function, mainly in the prefrontal cortex, following TCC practice. Finally, the effects of TCC on emotion/mental health is depicted with a prefrontal cortex hypothesis that proposed "an immune system of the mind" indicating the role of the prefrontal cortex as a flexible hub in regulating an individual's mental health. The prefrontal cortex is likely a key biomarker among the multiple complex neural correlates to help an individual manage negative emotions/mental health. Future research is needed to examine TCC effects on mental health by examining the relationship between the executive control system (mainly prefrontal cortex) and limbic network (including amygdala, insula, and hippocampal gyrus).

Identifiers

PMID34007290
PMCPMC8110391

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.