Neural Plasticity最新文献

{"title":"Functional Changes in the Glymphatic System in Children With Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A Study of Diffusion Tensor Imaging.","authors":"Jin Wang, Jiayan Zhuang, Kongqing Li, Gengbiao Zhang, Hongyi Zheng, Wenbin Zheng","doi":"10.1155/np/4484163","DOIUrl":"10.1155/np/4484163","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aim: </strong>Diffusion tensor imaging-analysis along the perivascular space (DTI-ALPS) indicators and free-water (FW) mapping derived from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data have been proposed as noninvasive markers of glymphatic system (GS) function. This study aimed to investigate GS function in children with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) with particular focus on the sensitive period of auditory development.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study enrolled 53 children with SNHL (SNHL group) and 42 age- and sex-matched healthy children (healthy control [HC] group). Based on the age of 36 months, we separated the study participants into two groups: Group A (0-36 months; A-SNHL group, <i>n</i> = 32; A-HC group, <i>n</i> = 21) and group B (36-180 months; B-SNHL group, <i>n</i> = 21; B-HC group, <i>n</i> = 21). We collected their DTI image data and calculated the ALPS index for the left and right hemispheres and the fractional volume of free water in white matter (FW-WM) and analyzed the differences between the groups. The DTI-ALPS has several limitations, the most prominent one being the influence of microstructure. However, it has many advantages and high clinical value.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared to the HC group, the ALPS index for both hemispheres in the SNHL group was significantly lower (L: <i>p</i> < 0.001; R: <i>p</i> < 0.001), and group B exhibited the same results (L: <i>p</i> < 0.001; R: <i>p</i> < 0.001). In group A, the left-hemisphere ALPS index of the A-SNHL group was significantly lower than that of the A-HC group (L: <i>p</i> = 0.002; R: <i>p</i> = 0.067). The FW imaging analysis indicated that the FW-WM in the B-SNHL group was significantly higher than that of the B-HC group, and it exhibited a negative correlation with the left-hemisphere ALPS index (<i>r</i> = -0.515, <i>p</i> = 0.017).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Children with SNHL (especially those over 3 years old) might exhibit compromised cerebral glymphatic function, possibly attributable to clearance dysfunction and interstitial fluid (ISF) retention. Despite the recognized limitation of DTI-ALPS, its integration with FW mapping may enhance the noninvasive indirect evaluation of glymphatic function.</p>","PeriodicalId":51299,"journal":{"name":"Neural Plasticity","volume":"2026 ","pages":"4484163"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12927958/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147285995","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Aberrant Nodal Topological Properties and Functional Connectivity of Amygdala Subregions Underlie Emotion-Visceral Integration Impairment in IBS With Depressive Symptoms.","authors":"Yidan Liang, Rongting Hou, Liqiang Wu, Yihan Jin, Ruoyu Tang, Yun Guo, Xiaofei Chen, Jie Li","doi":"10.1155/np/7203336","DOIUrl":"10.1155/np/7203336","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder of brain-gut interaction frequently co-occurs with depressive symptoms (dIBS). The amygdala is a critical hub for emotion-visceral integration and exhibits functional heterogeneity across its subregions. However, subregion-specific network alterations in dIBS remain unclear.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Forty-nine IBS patients and 36 demographically matched healthy controls (HCs) completed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and clinical assessments. Patients were stratified into dIBS (n = 28) and nondepressive IBS (ndIBS, n = 21) groups. Bilateral lateral amygdala (lAmyg) and medial amygdala (mAmyg) were selected as seeds for graph-theoretical nodal metrics and seed-based functional connectivity (FC) analyses. One-way analysis of covariance with post hoc comparisons was performed to assess intergroup differences. Correlation, mediation, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were further conducted.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared with ndIBS patients, dIBS patients exhibited increased degree centrality (DC) and nodal efficiency (Ne) in the left lAmyg, which were positively associated with depressive symptom severity. In addition, dIBS patients showed widespread hypoconnectivity between amygdala subregions and prefrontal and sensorimotor regions, including the medial superior frontal gyrus, postcentral gyrus, and thalamus. These FC alterations were correlated with clinical symptoms severity. Notably, the mAmyg-related FC in superior frontal gyrus and thalamus showed mediation effects linking gastrointestinal symptoms and depressive symptoms and exhibited high accuracy in distinguishing dIBS from ndIBS (area under the curves, AUCs > 0.8).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Aberrant nodal properties and disrupted connectivity of amygdala subregions may reflect altered emotion-visceral integration in dIBS. These findings provide neuroimaging evidence for brain-gut interaction abnormalities in dIBS and suggest that amygdala subregional networks may serve as potential markers for symptom stratification and targeted interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":51299,"journal":{"name":"Neural Plasticity","volume":"2026 1","pages":"e7203336"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13382785/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148521562","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Connectomic Mapping of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: Neural Circuitries Identified Through a Systematic Review and ALE Meta-Analysis.","authors":"Jeffeson Hildo Medeiros de Queiroz, Gabriel Mesquita da Conceição Bahia, Marcio Gonçalves Corrêa, Rebeca da Costa Gomes, Thais Alves Lobão, Erica Miranda Sanches Aires, Evander de Jesus Oliveira Batista, Gláucia Mota Bragança, Marta Chagas Monteiro, Carlomagno Pacheco Bahia","doi":"10.1155/np/5301861","DOIUrl":"10.1155/np/5301861","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Functional neuroimaging of the encephalon of humans with chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) has consistently demonstrated functional alterations in the neurophysiological properties of cortical and subcortical circuits. Nevertheless, the current knowledge on specific neural circuitries that may occur in different CMP subgroups is limited, which in turn limits the understanding of the encephalon mechanisms associated with persistent pain and clinical heterogeneity. This systematic review (CRD42022382309) and activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis of observational functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies on human encephalon aimed to characterize specific patterns of connectomic reorganization in different CMP subgroups. PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were searched. Two independent reviewers read titles and abstracts, full texts, assessed methodological quality using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale, and extracted X, Y, and Z coordinates. The data analyses were conducted using the GingerALE 3.0.2 software and complemented by frequency analyses. All neuroanatomical coordinates used in the ALE meta-analyses were standardized to the Montreal Neurological Institute 152 space. A 95% confidence interval (CI) for the family-wise error (FWE) rate was applied using an initial uncorrected voxel-level threshold of p  < 0.001, together with 1000 permutation tests and a minimum cluster volume of ≥200 mm³. In total, 43 studies out of 5543 records met the inclusion criteria and none presented a very high risk of bias. The seven encephalon regions comprising the basic neural circuitry of CMP (somatosensory cortex, motor cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, insula, prefrontal cortex, thalamus, and cerebellum) correspond to an integrated connectomic hub that coordinates sensory-motor discriminative, affective-emotional, and cognitive-motivational processing. Additionally, 13 other regions are specifically recruited in distinct conditions of CMP. These parallel connections expand the processing network and add dimensions related to reward, memory, descending pain modulation, and attention. This dynamic reorganization reflects a pattern of cross-modal plasticity with maladaptive mechanisms.</p>","PeriodicalId":51299,"journal":{"name":"Neural Plasticity","volume":"2026 1","pages":"e5301861"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13155939/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147857680","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Selective Synaptic Remodeling in Rat Auditory and Visual Cortices Following Noise-Induced Permanent Hearing Loss in Adulthood.","authors":"Miao Zhao, Yanjie Bai, Yaxin Yang, Na Li, You Zhou","doi":"10.1155/np/8852865","DOIUrl":"10.1155/np/8852865","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In adults with acquired hearing loss, cortical reorganization and cross-modal plasticity critically influence the timing and outcomes of cochlear implantation. This study examined the effects of 2 weeks of bilateral auditory deprivation-induced by intense broadband noise-on the structure and gene expression in the primary auditory (A1) and visual (V1) cortices of adult rats. The results revealed that the total neuronal counts in both the A1 and V1 remained unchanged compared to controls. Morphological analysis showed no significant change in mature dendritic spine density in either region, but immature spine density was significantly reduced in the V1 cortex. Ultrastructural examination demonstrated notable synaptic alterations in the A1 cortex, including significant reductions in postsynaptic density (PSD) length, thickness, area, and synaptic vesicle number-changes that were not observed in the V1 cortex. Transcriptomic profiling indicated a region-specific response, with 197 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the A1 cortex, compared to a broader alteration of 545 DEGs in the V1 cortex, which were significantly involved in neuronal signaling and synaptic transmission. These findings demonstrate that auditory deprivation induces distinct molecular and synaptic remodeling in the A1 and V1 cortices, identifying neuronal plasticity and synaptic regulation as central mechanisms for cross-modal reorganization in the adult brain.</p>","PeriodicalId":51299,"journal":{"name":"Neural Plasticity","volume":"2026 1","pages":"e8852865"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13182752/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147965618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A JNK-Regulated and IL-1β-Dependent Astrocyte-Neuron Signaling Pathway in the Spinal Dorsal Horn is Essential for Stress-Induced Hyperalgesia.","authors":"Jian Qi, Chen Chen, Qian Gao","doi":"10.1155/np/2791699","DOIUrl":"10.1155/np/2791699","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Various forms of mild stress may exacerbate pain in patients with chronic pain disorders, though the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Astrocyte activation in the spinal dorsal horn plays a predominant role in stress and pain. The present study investigated the neuron-astrocyte interactions in the spinal dorsal horn in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-induced hyperalgesia using a single-prolonged stress (SPS) model, a Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA) model and an SPS + CFA model. Animals were tested for mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT) of the paw after SPS, CFA and SPS + CFA. SPS + CFA group induced significantly increased mechanical allodynia compared with the SPS or CFA group. We tested the hypothesis that IL-1β contributes to signaling between astrocytes and neurons in stress-induced hyperalgesia (SIH). Immunohistochemical data showed that there was an upregulation of glial fibrillary acidic proteins (GFAPs, a marker of astrocyte) and Fos (a marker of neuron) in SIH. Immunohistochemical data showed specific localization of IL-1β to astrocyte, but not to microglia and neurons and a neuronal localization of the IL-1β receptor (IL-1RI) with NMDAR2B (NR2B). Enzyme immunoassay analysis showed that IL-1β release was dependent on c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation in astrocyte. The JNK inhibitor SP600125 suppressed IL-1β release. SP600125 and IL-1RI blockade with IL-1ra resulted in a restoration of behavioral nociceptive thresholds. Our results showed that the IL-1β-dependent, JNK-regulated astrocyte-neuron signaling pathway mediated the astroglia component of pain maintenance in SIH.</p>","PeriodicalId":51299,"journal":{"name":"Neural Plasticity","volume":"2026 1","pages":"e2791699"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13140187/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147464056","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"RETRACTION: Repressor Element 1 Silencing Transcription Factor (REST) Governs Microglia-Like BV2 Cell Migration via Progranulin (PGRN).","authors":"Neural Plasticity","doi":"10.1155/np/9896268","DOIUrl":"10.1155/np/9896268","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51299,"journal":{"name":"Neural Plasticity","volume":"2026 1","pages":"e9896268"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13161864/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147876592","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Efficacy of Individualized Music Therapy in Patients With MCS: A Pilot Study on EEG.","authors":"Xiaoying Zhang, Yunlei Wang, Zuliyaer Talifu, Qingqing Feng, Jiayi Gu, Xiaobing Li, Xiaoxia Du","doi":"10.1155/np/8832006","DOIUrl":"10.1155/np/8832006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To evaluate the feasibility, safety, and preliminary effects of individual music therapy (IMT) on electroencephalography (EEG) cortical activation in patients with minimally conscious state (MCS).</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>This study was pilot randomized, single-blind, and blank-controlled trial.</p><p><strong>Setting: </strong>China Rehabilitation Research Center (CRRC), Beijing, China.</p><p><strong>Participants: </strong>Sixty-two MCS patients (diagnosed by Coma Recovery Scale-Revised [CRS-R]) were enrolled between March 2024 and July 2025; 43 completed the trial and were randomized.</p><p><strong>Intervention: </strong>The experimental group (n = 22) received 12-week individualized music therapy (30-min sessions, five times per week) delivered by a certified music therapist.</p><p><strong>Comparator: </strong>The control group (n = 21) received routine treatment and rehabilitation training without music intervention.</p><p><strong>Primary outcome: </strong>The change in EEG spectral power (alpha band, 8-13 Hz) over right-hemisphere frontocentral regions from baseline (T1) to post-intervention (T2).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The IMT group showed significantly increased alpha power over the right lateral prefrontal cortex, precentral gyrus, and central sulcus at T2 compared T1 (p < 0.05; descriptive comparison), whereas no such change was observed in the control group. No adverse events occurred in either group.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>IMT is feasible and safe in medically fragile MCS patients and may induce right-hemisphere cortical activation. These pilot findings are hypothesis-generating and require confirmation in larger, adequately powered trials.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR2500114153, MR-11-24-014167.</p>","PeriodicalId":51299,"journal":{"name":"Neural Plasticity","volume":"2026 1","pages":"e8832006"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13353083/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148426229","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Vestibular-Visual Reweighting in Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness: A Multilevel Resting-State fMRI Study.","authors":"Jin-Ju Kang, Yongseon Yoo, Sang-Yeon Kim, Sohui Kim, Jong-Min Lee, Sun-Young Oh","doi":"10.1155/np/9968808","DOIUrl":"10.1155/np/9968808","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) is a disabling functional vestibular disorder characterized by chronic dizziness and visually and motion-induced unsteadiness that markedly impairs daily activities, yet it lacks objective neurobiological markers. We acquired resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) in 52 patients with PPPD and 50 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs) and analyzed the data using a three-tier approach: (i) functional network connectivity (FNC) of independent component analysis (ICA-FNC), (ii) voxel-wise measures of spontaneous amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and fractional ALFF (fALFF), and (iii) seed-based connectivity using a priori vestibular and subcortical regions of interest (ROIs; e.g., cerebellar (CB) nodulus, parafascicular thalamus, and caudate). Integrating these analytic tiers, we observed a coherent pattern: broadly increased connectivity of CB and primary visual (VIS) networks together with selective hypoconnectivity between a brainstem-cerebellar (BSC) component and the multimodal vestibular cortex (MVC), oculomotor (frontal eye field [FEF]), and default-mode networks (DMN). Voxel metrics revealed decreased ALFF in parietal and frontal opercular cortices-key vestibular integration regions-contrasting with increased fALFF in mid-cingulate, lateral occipital, and premotor areas. Seed-based mapping identified strengthened thalamo-VIS, striato-limbic, and nodulus-hippocampal connectivity. Importantly, increased BSC-to-VIS coupling correlated positively with depressive symptom severity and state anxiety, but negatively with balance confidence and psychological resilience, linking network imbalance to the biopsychosocial phenotype of PPPD. These findings support a multiscale signature of vestibular cortical disengagement accompanied by maladaptive VIS-CB reinforcement and motivate multicenter validation of network-level markers as adjuncts to symptom-based diagnosis.</p>","PeriodicalId":51299,"journal":{"name":"Neural Plasticity","volume":"2026 1","pages":"e9968808"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13058442/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147635027","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Targeting Nurr1 With Amodiaquine Preserves Dendritic Spines and Cognitive Function After Chronic Cerebral Hypoperfusion.","authors":"Xiuli Zeng, Xiaomei Xie, Junrun Zhang, Jinyu Jia, Li'an Huang","doi":"10.1155/np/9997801","DOIUrl":"10.1155/np/9997801","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Nurr1, an orphan nuclear receptor that lacks an endogenous ligand, plays a key role in hippocampal function, synaptic plasticity, and cognitive processes. It is linked to various central nervous system diseases; however, its association with chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH)-induced cognitive impairment remains unclear. This study investigated whether the Nurr1 agonist, amodiaquine (AQ), can enhance synaptic plasticity and alleviate cognitive deficits caused by CCH.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A CCH rat model was created using the bilateral common carotid arterial occlusion method, followed by a 2-week AQ treatment (20 mg/kg, every 12 h, through intraperitoneal injection). Learning and spatial memory were assessed using the Morris water maze (MWM), Y-maze, and object recognition tests. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the cortex and hippocampus was measured using arterial spin labeling (ASL) with 3.0T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and white matter fiber density was assessed using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Hippocampal neuron morphology and count were examined using Nissl and NeuN staining, while dendritic spine morphology and density in CA1 and CA3 hippocampal regions were analyzed using Golgi staining.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Experiments with the water maze, Y-maze, and object recognition tests demonstrated that CCH rats treated with AQ exhibited improved long-term and short-term memory and spatial recognition compared to the control group, with benefits persisting after two and 6 weeks. MRI DTI sequences revealed that AQ reversed the decline in white matter fiber density observed in CCH model rats compared to the sham group. Golgi staining confirmed that AQ protected the dendritic spines of the neurons damaged in the CCH model.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Administrating Nurr1 agonist AQ demonstrated a sustained ameliorative effect on cognitive deficits in CCH rats. This effect is potentially mediated through the mitigation of hippocampal neuronal loss and improvement of dendritic spine integrity.</p>","PeriodicalId":51299,"journal":{"name":"Neural Plasticity","volume":"2026 1","pages":"e9997801"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13200173/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148018861","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Alterations of White Matter Structural Brain Network in Children With Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A Graph Theory Analysis for Auditory Sensitivity Period.","authors":"Jiayan Zhuang, Jin Wang, Gengbiao Zhang, Hongyi Zheng, Lingmei Kong, Lexing Huang, Juyue Hong, Wenbin Zheng","doi":"10.1155/np/4263849","DOIUrl":"10.1155/np/4263849","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>The central auditory system has greater plasticity when children are 2-4 years old, called the auditory sensitive period, during which cochlear implantation (CI) can give a good prognosis to children with congenital sensorineural hearing loss (CSNHL), but some will have a poor prognosis. This experiment aims to construct a structural brain network by using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and analyze alterations of the topological properties of structural brain networks by graph theory method, provide an imaging basis for the pathophysiological mechanism of white matter network changes with age in SNHL children.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>A total of 109 children with SNHL and 61 normal control groups were included. According to the auditory sensitivity period, children were divided into a group within the auditory sensitivity period (group A, 12-47 months) and a group beyond the auditory sensitivity period (group B, 48-120 months). DTI data were collected to construct the structural brain network for graph theory analysis, identify the network changes of the topological properties of the SNHL, as well as the differences before and after the auditory sensitivity period.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared with the control group, both groups of SNHL had network topological changes. Group A showed a decrease in nodal parameters in higher-order cognitive-related brain regions but no difference in global topology parameters and network connection strength. However, group B showed a decrease in the nodal parameters of multiple contact cortical brain regions and the global efficiency (Eglob) of structural networks. Besides, subnetwork analysis showed weakened connection strength between key brain regions related to higher-order cognition.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The structural brain network of SNHL children before the auditory sensitive period has not undergone extensive changes, and once the auditory sensitive period of development is exceeded, the formation of deaf brain features will be more obvious, with greater impact on higher-order cognitive regions. Before the auditory sensitivity period, hearing stimulation should be introduced to SNHL children as soon as possible to reduce extensive damage to the white matter network.</p>","PeriodicalId":51299,"journal":{"name":"Neural Plasticity","volume":"2026 1","pages":"e4263849"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13140368/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147460917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}