title: Alterations of grey matter asymmetries in adolescents with prelingual deafness: a combined VBM and cortical thickness analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Prelingual deafness has been shown to lead to brain reorganization as demonstrated by functional parameters, but anatomical evidences still remain controversial. The present study investigated hemispheric asymmetry changes in deaf subjects using MRI, hypothesizing auditory-, language- or visual-related regions after early deafness.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prelingually deaf adolescents (n = 16) and age- and gender-matched normal controls (n = 16) were recruited and hemispheric asymmetry was evaluated with voxel-based morphometry (VBM) from MRI combined with analysis of cortical thickness (CTh).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Deaf adolescents showed more rightward asymmetries (L < R) of grey matter volume (GMV) in the cerebellum and more leftward CTh asymmetries (L > R) in the posterior cingulate gyrus and gyrus rectus. More rightward CTh asymmetries were observed in the precuneus, middle and superior frontal gyri, and middle occipital gyrus. The duration of hearing aid use was correlated with asymmetry of GMV in the cerebellum and CTh in the gyrus rectus. Interestingly, the asymmetry of the auditory cortex was preserved in deaf subjects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  When the brain is deprived of auditory input early in life there are signs of both irreversible morphological asymmetry changes in different brain regions but also signs of reorganization and plasticity which are dependent on hearing aid use, i.e. use-dependent.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Control and Management of Complex Systems, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Wenjing
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jianhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Junfang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xian
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Chunheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhaohui
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Sha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Zhenchang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Huiguang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Bernhard A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Sabel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000465:Algorithms; D001299:Audiometry; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D003638:Deafness / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male