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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neuro-Otology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1515262

Altered amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation and functional connectivity in patients with acute unilateral vestibulopathy: A resting-state fMRI study

Provisionally accepted
Zhengwei Chen Zhengwei Chen 1*Liangqun Rong Liangqun Rong 1Lijie Xiao Lijie Xiao 1Jie Rao Jie Rao 2Haiyan Liu Haiyan Liu 1Tengfei Liu Tengfei Liu 1Fei Chen Fei Chen 1Jun Zhang Jun Zhang 1Lu Wang Lu Wang 1Xi Li Xi Li 3Xiue Wei Xiue Wei 1
  • 1 Second Affiliated Hospital, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China
  • 2 Lishui Central Hospital, Lishui, Zhejiang Province, China
  • 3 Wenzhou People’s Hospital, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: To investigate changes of brain functional activity in patients with acute unilateral vestibulopathy (AUVP) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Methods: We studied 32 AUVP patients and 30 healthy controls (HC) who received resting-state fMRI scanning. Methods of voxel-based amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and seed-based functional connectivity (FC) were adopted to compare the difference in brain function between the two groups. In addition, we evaluated the associations between abnormal neuroimaging results and clinical data in AUVP patients. Results: Compared with HC, patients with AUVP showed lower ALFF in brain regions of bilateral insular, right precentral gyrus, left inferior frontal gyrus and right middle frontal gyrus, as well as higher ALFF in left cerebellar anterior lobe. Using these abnormal brain areas as seeds, we observed decreased FC between left insular and left precuneus in AUVP patients. Furthermore, AUVP patients showed increased FC between left insular and left supplementary motor area. Results of correlation analysis indicated that ALFF value (z-value) in left insular was negatively correlated with the canal paresis value (p= 0.005, r= -0.483), and the FC (z-value) between left insular and left precuneus was negatively correlated with dizziness handicap inventory score (p= 0.012, r= -0.438) in patients with AUVP. Conclusion: Patients with AUVP during acute period showed altered functional activity and connectivity in brain regions mainly involved in motor control and vestibular information processing. These changes in brain functional activity and connectivity were potentially attributed to decreased vestibular input resulting from unilateral peripheral vestibular impairment.

    Keywords: acute unilateral vestibulopathy, Vestibular Neuritis, fMRI, Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation, functional connectivity

    Received: 22 Oct 2024; Accepted: 24 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Chen, Rong, Xiao, Rao, Liu, Liu, Chen, Zhang, Wang, Li and Wei. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Zhengwei Chen, Second Affiliated Hospital, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China

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