Cerebellar functional connectivity relates to lower urinary tract function: A 7 Tesla study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Urology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• The cerebellum's role in micturition (urinary function) is not fully understood.
• Investigating brain activity during bladder filling is crucial for understanding urinary pathologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the functional connectivity (FC) of the cerebellum during the storage phase of micturition.
• To detect spontaneous blood-oxygen-level dependent signals between the cerebellum and other brain regions.
• To utilize high-resolution 7 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for detailed analysis.

Main Methods:

• Recruited healthy individuals without neurological or lower urinary tract (LUT) symptoms.
• Acquired resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) scans with both empty and full bladder states.
• Performed seed-to-voxel analysis on cerebellar regions of interest using nonparametric statistics (Threshold Free Cluster Enhancement, p < 0.05).

Main Results:

• Significant differences in cerebellar functional connectivity were observed between full and empty bladder states.
• Specific cerebellar regions (left cerebellar tonsil, right posterolateral lobe, right posterior lobe) showed altered connectivity.
• Sex differences in FC were noted, with higher connectivity in women during the empty bladder condition.

Conclusions:

• Cerebellar network connectivity is modulated by bladder filling and associated with LUT function.
• This study provides initial evidence for the cerebellum's involvement in bladder control.
• Findings lay the groundwork for understanding urinary pathologies related to cerebellar function.