Structural plasticity in the human brain following unilateral peripheral vestibulo-cochlear neurectomy

Peripheral vestibular deafferentation is known to elicit functional brain plasticity which may be related to vestibular compensation. We examined (i) whether there are structural (morphological) changes in the human brain following peripheral vestibulo-cochlear neurectomy due to acoustic neuroma (AN), and (ii) how they might contribute to central compensation. We compared grey matter changes in AN patients with age and gender-matched control subjects. We hypothezised that morphometric changes in vestibular and auditory cortex as well as temporo-parietal multisensory cortices are related to functional disability/…