Alterations of structural and functional connectivity in profound sensorineural hearing loss infants within an early sensitive period: A combined DTI and fMRI study.
Dev Cogn Neurosci
; 38: 100654, 2019 08.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31129460
ABSTRACT
Due to heightened level of neuroplasticity, there is a sensitive period (2-4 years after birth) that exists for optimal central auditory development. Using diffusion tensor imaging combined with resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) analysis, this study directly investigates the structural connectivity alterations of the whole brain white matter (WM) and the functional reorganization of the auditory network in infants with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) during the early sensitive period. 46 bilateral profound SNHL infants prior to cochlear implantation (mean age, 17.59 months) and 33 healthy controls (mean age, 18.55 months) were included in the analysis. Compared with controls, SNHL infants showed widespread WM alterations, including bilateral superior longitudinal fasciculus, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, right corticospinal tract, posterior thalamic radiation and left uncinate fasciculus. Moreover, SNHL infants demonstrated increased rsFC between left/right primary auditory cortex seeds and right insula and superior temporal gyrus. In conclusion, this study suggests that SNHL in the early sensitive period is associated with diffuse WM alterations that mainly affect the auditory and language pathways. Furthermore, increased rsFC in areas mainly associated with auditory and language networks may potentially reflect reorganization and compensatory activation in response to auditory deprivation during the early sensitive period.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Corteza Auditiva
/
Imagen por Resonancia Magnética
/
Imagen de Difusión Tensora
/
Pérdida Auditiva Sensorineural
/
Red Nerviosa
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
Límite:
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Infant
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Dev Cogn Neurosci
Año:
2019
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
China