Spinal cord injury (SCI) remodels the brain structure and alters brain function. To identify specific changes in brain gray matter volume (GMV) and white matter volume (WMV) following SCI, we conducted a voxel-based meta-analysis of whole-brain voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies.
We performed a comprehensive literature search on VBM studies that compared SCI patients and healthy controls in PubMed, Web of Science and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure from 1980 to April 2022. Then, we conducted a voxel-based meta-analysis using seed-based d mapping with permutation of subject images (SDM-PSI). Meta-regression analysis was performed to identify the effects of clinical characteristics.
Our study collected 20 studies with 22 GMV datasets and 15 WMV datasets, including 410 patients and 406 healthy controls. Compared with healthy controls, SCI patients showed significant GMV loss in the left insula and bilateral thalamus and significant WMV loss in the bilateral corticospinal tract (CST). Additionally, a higher motor score and pinprick score were positively related to greater GMV in the right postcentral gyrus, whereas a positive relationship was observed between the light touch score and the bilateral postcentral gyrus.
Atrophy in the thalamus and bilateral CST suggest that SCI may trigger neurodegeneration changes in the sensory and motor pathways. Furthermore, atrophy of the left insula may indicate depression and neuropathic pain in SCI patients. These indicators of structural abnormalities could serve as neuroimaging biomarkers for evaluating the prognosis and treatment effect, as well as for monitoring disease progression. The application of neuroimaging biomarkers in the brain for SCI may also lead to personalized treatment strategies.