title: Alterations in gray matter volume due to unilateral hearing loss.
abstract: Although extensive research on neural plasticity resulting from hearing deprivation has been conducted, the direct influence of compromised audition on the auditory cortex and the potential impact of long durations of incomplete sensory stimulation on the adult cortex are still not fully understood. In this study, using voxel-based morphometry, we evaluated gray matter (GM) volume changes that may be associated with reduced hearing ability and the duration of hearing impairment in 42 unilateral hearing loss (UHL) patients with acoustic neuromas compared to 24 normal controls. We found significant GM volume increases in the somatosensory and motor systems and GM volume decreases in the auditory (i.e., Heschl's gyrus) and visual systems (i.e., the calcarine cortex) in UHL patients. The GM volume decreases in the primary auditory cortex (i.e., superior temporal gyrus and Heschl's gyrus) correlated with reduced hearing ability. Meanwhile, the GM volume decreases in structures involving high-level cognitive control functions (i.e., dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex) correlated positively with hearing loss duration. Our findings demonstrated that the severity and duration of UHL may contribute to the dissociated morphology of auditory and high-level neural structures, providing insight into the brain's plasticity related to chronic, persistent partial sensory loss.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 6 Tiantan Xili Dongcheng District, Beijing 100050, China.|China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, No. 6 Tiantan Xili Dongcheng District, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: Xingchao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Affective and Social Neuroscience, College of Psychology and Sociology, Shenzhen University, Nanhai Ave 3688, Shenzhen 518060, Guangdong, P.R. China.|Neuroimaging Center, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Oude Kijk in 't Jatstraat 26, Harmonie Complex, 9712 EK Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Pengfei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 6 Tiantan Xili Dongcheng District, Beijing 100050, China.|China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, No. 6 Tiantan Xili Dongcheng District, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 6 Tiantan Xili Dongcheng District, Beijing 100050, China.|China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, No. 6 Tiantan Xili Dongcheng District, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: Zhenmin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Lab for Neuro-reconstruction, Beijing Neurosurgery Institute, No. 6 Tiantan Xili Dongcheng District, Beijing 100050, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Fu
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 6 Tiantan Xili Dongcheng District, Beijing 100050, China.|China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, No. 6 Tiantan Xili Dongcheng District, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: Zhixian
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, Massachusetts, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Affective and Social Neuroscience, College of Psychology and Sociology, Shenzhen University, Nanhai Ave 3688, Shenzhen 518060, Guangdong, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yue-Jia
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Queens College, The City University of New York, 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, NY, 11367, USA.|Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mont Sinai, 1 Gustave L. Levy Place New York, NY, 10029, USA.|Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mont Sinai, 1 Gustave L. Levy Place New York, NY, 10029, USA.|Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mont Sinai, 1 Gustave L. Levy Place New York, NY, 10029, USA.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 6 Tiantan Xili Dongcheng District, Beijing 100050, China.|China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, No. 6 Tiantan Xili Dongcheng District, Beijing 100050, China.|Lab for Neuro-reconstruction, Beijing Neurosurgery Institute, No. 6 Tiantan Xili Dongcheng District, Beijing 100050, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Pinan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006309:Hearing; D046088:Hearing Loss, Unilateral / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009464:Neuroma, Acoustic / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D009622:Noise; D009929:Organ Size; D013060:Speech