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European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology

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01-10-2009 | Otology

Cerebral plasticity in acute vestibular deficit

Authors: Marco Alessandrini, Bianca Napolitano, Ernesto Bruno, Letizia Belcastro, Fabrizio Ottaviani, Orazio Schillaci

Published in: European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology | Issue 10/2009

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of acute vestibular deficit on the cerebral cortex and its correlation with clinical signs and symptoms. Eight right-handed patients affected by vestibular neuritis, a purely peripheral vestibular lesion, underwent two brain single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in 1 month. The first SPECT analysis revealed reduced blood flow in the temporal frontal area of the right hemisphere in seven of eight patients, independent of the right/left location of the lesion. The alteration was present always in the right, non-dominant hemisphere and was reversible in some patients 1 month after the onset, together with attenuation of signs and symptoms. It may be hypothesized that the transient reduction of cortical blood flow and subsequently of cortical activity in the non-dominant hemisphere, also the expression of cerebral plasticity, may serve as a defense mechanism aimed to attenuate the vertigo symptom.

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Title: Cerebral plasticity in acute vestibular deficit
Authors: Marco Alessandrini
Bianca Napolitano
Ernesto Bruno
Letizia Belcastro
Fabrizio Ottaviani
Orazio Schillaci
Publication date: 01-10-2009
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
Published in: European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology / Issue 10/2009
Print ISSN: 0937-4477
Electronic ISSN: 1434-4726
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-009-0953-4

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Cerebral plasticity in acute vestibular deficit

Abstract

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