Short Latency Gray Matter Changes in Voxel-Based Morphometry following High Frequent Visual Stimulation

Magnetic resonance imaging studies using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) detected structural changes in the human brain within periods of months or weeks. The underlying molecular mechanisms of VBM findings remain unresolved. We showed that simple visual stimulation by an alternating checkerboard lead...

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Main Authors: Steffen Naegel, Tim Hagenacker, Nina Theysohn, Hans-Christoph Diener, Zaza Katsarava, Mark Obermann, Dagny Holle
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2017-01-01
Series:Neural Plasticity
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/1397801
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author Steffen Naegel
Tim Hagenacker
Nina Theysohn
Hans-Christoph Diener
Zaza Katsarava
Mark Obermann
Dagny Holle
author_facet Steffen Naegel
Tim Hagenacker
Nina Theysohn
Hans-Christoph Diener
Zaza Katsarava
Mark Obermann
Dagny Holle
author_sort Steffen Naegel
collection DOAJ
description Magnetic resonance imaging studies using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) detected structural changes in the human brain within periods of months or weeks. The underlying molecular mechanisms of VBM findings remain unresolved. We showed that simple visual stimulation by an alternating checkerboard leads to instant, short-lasting alterations of the primary and secondary visual cortex detected by VBM. The rapidness of occurrence (i.e., within 10 minutes) rather excludes most of the proposed physiological mechanism such as neural or glial cell genesis/degeneration or synapse turnover. We therefore favour cerebral fluid shifts to be the underlying correlate of the here observed VBM gray matter changes. Fast onset gray matter changes might be one important explanation for the inconsistency of VBM study results that often raise concern in regard to the validity of presented data. This study shows that changes detectable by VBM may occur within a few minutes after physiological stimulation and must be considered in future VBM experiments to avoid misinterpretation of results.
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spelling doaj-art-c42411d04b1f4de4a08dd5cce1c4e48c2025-08-20T03:23:11ZengWileyNeural Plasticity2090-59041687-54432017-01-01201710.1155/2017/13978011397801Short Latency Gray Matter Changes in Voxel-Based Morphometry following High Frequent Visual StimulationSteffen Naegel0Tim Hagenacker1Nina Theysohn2Hans-Christoph Diener3Zaza Katsarava4Mark Obermann5Dagny Holle6Department of Neurology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45122 Essen, GermanyDepartment of Neurology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45122 Essen, GermanyDepartment of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45122 Essen, GermanyDepartment of Neurology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45122 Essen, GermanyDepartment of Neurology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45122 Essen, GermanyDepartment of Neurology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45122 Essen, GermanyDepartment of Neurology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45122 Essen, GermanyMagnetic resonance imaging studies using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) detected structural changes in the human brain within periods of months or weeks. The underlying molecular mechanisms of VBM findings remain unresolved. We showed that simple visual stimulation by an alternating checkerboard leads to instant, short-lasting alterations of the primary and secondary visual cortex detected by VBM. The rapidness of occurrence (i.e., within 10 minutes) rather excludes most of the proposed physiological mechanism such as neural or glial cell genesis/degeneration or synapse turnover. We therefore favour cerebral fluid shifts to be the underlying correlate of the here observed VBM gray matter changes. Fast onset gray matter changes might be one important explanation for the inconsistency of VBM study results that often raise concern in regard to the validity of presented data. This study shows that changes detectable by VBM may occur within a few minutes after physiological stimulation and must be considered in future VBM experiments to avoid misinterpretation of results.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/1397801
spellingShingle Steffen Naegel
Tim Hagenacker
Nina Theysohn
Hans-Christoph Diener
Zaza Katsarava
Mark Obermann
Dagny Holle
Short Latency Gray Matter Changes in Voxel-Based Morphometry following High Frequent Visual Stimulation
Neural Plasticity
title Short Latency Gray Matter Changes in Voxel-Based Morphometry following High Frequent Visual Stimulation
title_full Short Latency Gray Matter Changes in Voxel-Based Morphometry following High Frequent Visual Stimulation
title_fullStr Short Latency Gray Matter Changes in Voxel-Based Morphometry following High Frequent Visual Stimulation
title_full_unstemmed Short Latency Gray Matter Changes in Voxel-Based Morphometry following High Frequent Visual Stimulation
title_short Short Latency Gray Matter Changes in Voxel-Based Morphometry following High Frequent Visual Stimulation
title_sort short latency gray matter changes in voxel based morphometry following high frequent visual stimulation
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/1397801
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