title: Changes in the gray matter volume during compensation after vestibular neuritis: a longitudinal VBM study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Peripheral vestibular dysfunction following vestibular neuritis (VN) often persists but functional recovery of balance can be variable. The authors compared structural changes in the brain before and after post-VN compensation and related it to the functional recovery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nine patients diagnosed with unilateral VN were included. Brain MRI and clinical observation were performed within 2 days of acute VN diagnosis and were repeated 3 months after the first exam. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis for longitudinal data was performed using VBM8 toolbox running within SPM8. Changes in local grey matter volume (GMV) were examined using a paired t-test and clinical relevance was tested using correlation analyses with functional improvement.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant increases in GMV were observed in the vestibular cortex, bilateral hippocampus, visual cortices and the cerebellum. GMV decreased in cerebellar regions, including the vermis, and in the prefrontal cortex. Increases in GMV in visual cortices and cerebellum were associated with the poorest recovery of balance, which might be explained by functional substitution.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The structural layout of vestibular compensation suggests that memory and motor planning are closely related to this process. Vision seems to be a major source of functional substitution, as has been previously demonstrated. This study, however, is the first longitudinal analysis of brain structural changes associated with recovery of balance following unilateral VN.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sung-Kwang
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea Interdisciplinary Program of Molecular Medicine, Hallym University, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ja Hee
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyung-Jong
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea Interdisciplinary Program of Molecular Medicine, Hallym University, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyo-Jeong
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014717:Vertigo / Q000209:etiology*; D020338:Vestibular Neuronitis / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D014785:Vision, Ocular / Q000502:physiology
keywords: Vestibular neuronitis; neuronal plasticity; rehabilitation; voxel-based morphometry