Herbal medicine for mild cognitive impairment: Neuroimaging perspectives

Core Tip

Core Tip: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a critical and potentially reversible stage preceding dementia, yet current pharmacological options offer limited benefit. This review highlights herbal medicines as multi-target interventions acting on neuroinflammation, cholinergic dysfunction, cerebral metabolism, and the gut-brain axis. Importantly, converging evidence from multimodal neuroimaging, including structural magnetic resonance imaging, functional magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, and diffusion tensor imaging, demonstrates measurable brain structural, functional, and metabolic benefits of standardized herbal interventions. Integrating neuroimaging biomarkers with phytochemical standardization and artificial intelligence may accelerate precision, disease-modifying strategies for MCI.