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Updated: Feb 15, 2026
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A Standardized Pipeline for Examining Human Cerebellar Grey Matter Morphometry using Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: February 4, 2022
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Cerebellar grey matter modifications in lower limb amputees not using prosthesis
Antonella Di Vita1,2,3, Maddalena Boccia4,5, Liana Palermo4,6
1PhD program in Behavioural Neuroscience, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy. antonella.divita@uniroma1.it.
Scientific Reports
|January 12, 2018
Summary
Prosthesis use in lower limb amputees may prevent grey matter loss in the cerebellum. This study found reduced grey matter in non-prosthesis users, suggesting functional limb replacement aids brain structure preservation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neuroplasticity
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Peripheral deafferentation, especially after limb amputation, causes documented grey matter (GM) reduction in sensory-motor areas.
- The impact of prosthesis use on these structural brain changes remains under-investigated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if using a functional prosthesis mitigates grey matter reduction following lower limb amputation.
- To compare brain structural reorganization in lower limb amputees with and without prosthesis use.
Main Methods:
- Voxel Based Morphometry (VBM) analysis of structural MRI data.
- Comparison of three groups: lower limb amputees with prosthesis (LLAwp), lower limb amputees without prosthesis (LLAnp), and healthy controls (HC).
Main Results:
- No significant GM differences were found between LLAwp and HC.
- LLAnp showed decreased GM volume in the bilateral cerebellum compared to HC.
- Prosthesis use appeared to prevent GM decrease in the cerebellum post-amputation.
Conclusions:
- Prosthesis use may play a protective role in preserving cerebellar grey matter volume after lower limb amputation.
- Functional limb replacement via prosthetics could counteract detrimental brain structural changes.
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