Taijiquan and the Brain:
Imaging Studies Point to Neuroplasticity
Researchers have long studied Taijiquan for its effects on balance, mobility, cardiovascular health and cognitive function. Increasingly, they are also asking a more fundamental question: does regular practice produce measurable changes in the brain?
A growing collection of magnetic resonance imaging studies suggests that it may.
One particularly interesting study, published in Scientific Reports in 2019, compared 36 college students assigned to three groups: Bafa Wubu Taijiquan, brisk walking, or a control group. Participants in the exercise groups trained three times a week for eight weeks and underwent structural and resting-state functional MRI scans before and after the program.
Compared with brisk walking, the Taijiquan group showed increases in gray-matter volume in several areas, including the left middle occipital gyrus and portions of the temporal cortex. Researchers also detected increased functional connectivity between the left middle frontal gyrus and left superior parietal lobule. These regions participate in processes that include attention, sensory integration, memory and cognitive control.
The study was small, with only 36 participants divided among three groups, so its findings should be considered preliminary. Nevertheless, the researchers concluded that Taijiquan appeared to produce a stronger effect on the measures of brain plasticity they examined than general aerobic exercise.
A different perspective came from a 2024 study at Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein in São Paulo, Brazil. Researchers compared 32 adults over age 60 who had practiced either Taijiquan or water aerobics for at least three years, for at least one hour twice a week.
During resting-state brain scans, the Taijiquan practitioners showed stronger connectivity involving the anterior cingulate cortex and insular cortex, important components of the brain's salience network. These regions help integrate information about the body with attention, cognitive control and awareness of internal sensations. Other connectivity differences appeared while participants performed memory and attention tasks.
Importantly, this was not an intervention study. The researchers observed differences between experienced practitioners but could not establish that Taijiquan caused them. The two groups also showed no significant differences on the study's standard neuropsychological tests.
Evidence from individual imaging studies was brought together in a meta-analysis published in 2025. Researchers reviewed 422 papers and ultimately included 18 Taijiquan neuroimaging studies involving 677 participants. Their analysis identified the most consistent functional changes in the superior frontal gyrus, part of the prefrontal region involved in executive control, planning, attention and working memory.
The broader picture was examined again in a February 2026 review in Frontiers in Neuroscience. Researchers concluded that current evidence points toward several possible pathways through which Taijiquan could support neuroplasticity. These include changes in brain structure and functional networks as well as increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, improved antioxidant defenses and modulation of inflammation.
BDNF is of particular interest because it helps support neuronal survival and synaptic plasticity. An earlier randomized trial involving 66 older adults with mild cognitive impairment found that six months of Taijiquan significantly increased plasma BDNF while also improving some measures of memory and executive function.
There are still important qualifications. Neuroimaging studies of Taijiquan tend to be small, methods and styles of practice vary considerably, and some studies compare experienced practitioners rather than randomly assigning participants. The 2026 reviewers specifically cautioned that much of the molecular evidence is based on blood biomarkers rather than direct measurements within the brain.
Still, the overall direction of the research is increasingly interesting. Taijiquan asks the practitioner to coordinate complex movement, balance, spatial awareness, attention, memory, breathing and continuous sensory feedback. Each of those activities can challenge the nervous system. Practiced together over months or years, it would not be surprising if the brain adapted along with the body.
Scientists are now beginning to see signs of those adaptations.
Sources:
Cui L, et al. “Tai Chi Chuan vs General Aerobic Exercise in Brain Plasticity: A Multimodal MRI Study.” Scientific Reports, 2019. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-53731-z.
Port AP, et al. “Differences in brain connectivity between older adults practicing Tai Chi and Water Aerobics: a case-control study.” Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 2024. DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2024.1420339.
Wang S, et al. “Taichi on the brain: an activation likelihood estimated meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging data.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2025. DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1493677.
Jin X, Chen J, Zhang X. “Tai Chi exercise and neuroplasticity: a narrative review according to neural mechanisms and clinical utilizations in brain health.” Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2026. DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2026.1769779.
