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White Matter Tracts of the Auditory Pathways in Experimental Unilateral Ear Canal Atresia.

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Τίτλος: White Matter Tracts of the Auditory Pathways in Experimental Unilateral Ear Canal Atresia.
Συγγραφείς: Siegbahn M; Department of Clinical Intervention and Technology, Division of ENT diseases, Karolinska Institute.; Department of Ear and Hearing, Karolinska University Hospital., Kraft Birkne S; Department of Biomedical Engineering and Health Systems, KTH Royal Institute of Technology., Maschio F; Department of Biomedical Engineering and Health Systems, KTH Royal Institute of Technology., Hultcrantz M; Department of Clinical Intervention and Technology, Division of ENT diseases, Karolinska Institute., Engmér Berglin C; Department of Clinical Intervention and Technology, Division of ENT diseases, Karolinska Institute.; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Sophiahemmet Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden., Moreno R; Department of Biomedical Engineering and Health Systems, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
Πηγή: Otology & neurotology : official publication of the American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society [and] European Academy of Otology and Neurotology [Otol Neurotol] 2026 Jul 01; Vol. 47 (6), pp. e868-e874. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Apr 15.
Τύπος έκδοσης: Journal Article
Γλώσσα: English
Στοιχεία περιοδικού: Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 100961504 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1537-4505 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 15317129 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Otol Neurotol Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s): Original Publication: Hagerstown, MD : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, c2001-
Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): Auditory Pathways*/pathology , White Matter*/pathology , White Matter*/diagnostic imaging , Ear Canal*/abnormalities , Ear Canal*/surgery , Hearing Loss, Conductive*/pathology , Hearing Loss, Unilateral*, Cochlear Nucleus/pathology ; Inferior Colliculi/pathology ; Ear/abnormalities ; Animals ; Rats ; Disease Models, Animal ; Diffusion Tensor Imaging ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Congenital Abnormalities
Περίληψη: Hypothesis: Congenital unilateral conductive hearing impairment alters auditory white matter tract connections of the brain.
Background: Unilateral conductive hearing loss has negative effects on speech perception in noise and sound localization ability. This study examines auditory white matter tracts in a rat model with surgically induced unilateral ear canal atresia, compared with controls.
Materials and Methods: Twelve-month euthanized rats, 7 with left-sided surgically created ear canal atresia (UCA) and 4 controls, were scanned in a 9.4 T MRI scanner for animal research purposes. Diffusion-weighted images were acquired. Two different methods for probabilistic fiber tracking were used. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was calculated from whole brains and from tracts between defined auditory regions of interest.
Results: Both methods of fiber tracking show significantly higher global FA in rats with UCA. Within-group comparisons in UCA show higher FA on the hearing side between the cochlear nucleus and inferior colliculus, compared with the side of hearing loss, while in controls, there was no asymmetry. Lower FA was also found between the medial geniculate complex and the auditory cortex on the left side than on the right in UCA, in contrast to controls, where there was no difference between the hemispheres.
Conclusion: The asymmetry found in UCA indicates alterations of auditory white matter tracts as a response to asymmetric hearing, partly confirming previous findings in experiments on ferrets.
(Copyright © 2026, Otology & Neurotology, Inc.)
Competing Interests: The authors disclose no conflicts of interest.
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Grant Information: FoUI-988066 ALF
Contributed Indexing: Keywords: Central auditory pathways; MRI; Rats; Unilateral hearing loss
SCR Disease Name: Aural Atresia, Congenital
Entry Date(s): Date Created: 20260415 Date Completed: 20260612 Latest Revision: 20260612
Update Code: 20260613
DOI: 10.1097/MAO.0000000000004916
PMID: 41981746
Βάση Δεδομένων: MEDLINE
Περιγραφή
ISSN:1537-4505
DOI:10.1097/MAO.0000000000004916