Department of Physical Therapy, College of Health Sciences, Dankook University, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungnam, Republic of Korea.
Department of Physical Therapy, Uiduk University, Gyeongju-si, Republic of Korea.
BMC Neurol. 2024 Sep 6;24(1):324. doi: 10.1186/s12883-024-03819-5.
Vestibular function is controlled by interactions between various neuropathways that have different effects on balance and are connected to various brain areas. However, few studies have investigated the relation between changes in VN connectivity and aging using neuroimaging. We investigated neural connectivities in the vestibular nucleus (VN) and ventralis intermedius (VIM) nucleus of the thalamus in young and old healthy adults by diffusion tensor imaging.
This study recruited twenty-three normal healthy adults with no history of a neurological or musculoskeletal disease, that is, eleven old healthy adults (6 males, 5 females; mean age 63.36 ± 4.25 years) and 12 young healthy adults (7 males, 5 females; mean age 28.42 ± 4.40 years). Connectivity was defined as the incidence of connection between the VN, VIM, and target brain regions. Incidence of connection was counted from VN and VIM to each brain region. The subjective visual vertical (SVV) and the Berg balance scale (BBS) were used to assess vestibular function and balance.
The VN showed high connectivity with brainstem (dentate nucleus, medial longitudinal fasciculus, and VIM), but relatively low connectivity with cerebral cortex (parieto-insular vestibular cortex (PIVC) and primary somatosensory cortex) at a threshold of 30 streamlines. In particular, VN connectivity with PIVC was significantly lower in elderly adults (> 60 years old) than in young adults (20-40 years old) (p < 0.05). VIM showed high to mid connectivity with brainstems and cerebral cortexes at a threshold of 30, but no significant difference was observed between young and old adults (p > 0.05). SVV and BBS showed no significant differences between young and old adults (p > 0.05).
We investigated incidences of neural connectivities of VN and VIM in young and old healthy adults. Our results provide basic data that might be clinically useful following injury of vestibular-related areas.
前庭功能受各种神经通路相互作用的控制，这些通路对平衡有不同的影响，并与大脑的不同区域相连。然而，很少有研究使用神经影像学来研究前庭神经核（VN）连接的变化与衰老之间的关系。我们通过弥散张量成像研究了年轻和老年健康成年人 VN 和丘脑腹侧中间核（VIM）核的神经连接。
本研究招募了 23 名无神经或肌肉骨骼疾病病史的正常健康成年人，即 11 名老年健康成年人（6 名男性，5 名女性；平均年龄 63.36±4.25 岁）和 12 名年轻健康成年人（7 名男性，5 名女性；平均年龄 28.42±4.40 岁）。连接性定义为 VN、VIM 与目标脑区之间的连接发生率。从 VN 和 VIM 到每个脑区计算连接的发生率。主观视觉垂直（SVV）和伯格平衡量表（BBS）用于评估前庭功能和平衡。
VN 与脑干（齿状核、内侧纵束和 VIM）显示出高连接性，但与大脑皮层（顶-岛叶前庭皮质（PIVC）和初级体感皮质）的连接性相对较低，在 30 个流线的阈值下。特别是，VN 与 PIVC 的连接性在老年人（>60 岁）中明显低于年轻人（20-40 岁）（p<0.05）。VIM 在 30 个流线的阈值下与脑干和大脑皮层显示出高到中等连接性，但在年轻和老年成年人之间没有观察到显著差异（p>0.05）。SVV 和 BBS 在年轻和老年成年人之间没有显著差异（p>0.05）。
我们研究了年轻和老年健康成年人 VN 和 VIM 的神经连接发生率。我们的研究结果提供了可能在与前庭相关区域受伤后具有临床应用价值的基础数据。
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