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Voxel Based Morphometry Alterations in Mal de Debarquement Syndrome.
Yoon-Hee Cha1, Shruthi Chakrapani2
1Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States of America; University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
Plos One
|August 8, 2015
Summary
Mal de debarquement syndrome (MdDS) causes persistent self-motion perception issues. Brain imaging reveals grey matter volume differences in MdDS patients, particularly in areas related to sensory processing and network control.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neuroimaging
- Vestibular Disorders
Background:
- Mal de debarquement syndrome (MdDS) is a chronic disorder characterized by persistent self-motion perception, often following exposure to rhythmic motion like sea voyages.
- The underlying neural mechanisms of this prolonged sensory abnormality remain poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate structural brain differences, specifically grey matter volume, associated with persistent Mal de debarquement syndrome (MdDS).
- To explore the relationship between illness duration and grey matter volume changes in individuals with MdDS.
Main Methods:
- Voxel-based morphometry was used to analyze whole-brain and region-of-interest (ROI) grey matter volumes.
- A cohort of 28 individuals with MdDS was compared to 18 matched healthy controls.
Main Results:
- MdDS participants showed increased grey matter volume in the left inferior parietal lobule, right inferior occipital gyrus (V3v), right temporal pole, and cerebellar lobules VIII/IX and VIIa/VIIb.
- Decreased grey matter volumes were observed in the bilateral inferior frontal, orbitofrontal, pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC), and left superior medial gyri.
- Illness duration correlated with volume changes in visual-vestibular, default mode, salience, somatosensory, and central executive network structures, with decreased pgACC and increased left inferior frontal gyrus/anterior insula (IFG/AI) volume being most significant with longer duration.
Conclusions:
- Individuals with MdDS exhibit distinct grey matter volume differences compared to controls.
- Brain volume changes in MdDS are associated with the duration of illness and involve key network structures crucial for sensory processing, motion perception, and cognitive control.
- These findings may inform future research on how environmental motion exposure impacts brain function and perception.
