Altered White Matter Integrity in Adolescents with Prelingual Deafness: A High-Resolution Tract-Based Spatial Statistics Imaging Study

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Fig 1.
A, The identified FA skeleton clusters at P < .05 (corrected for multiple comparisons) were filled (by use of tbss_fill script implemented in FSL) to make the presentation easy to follow. Changes can be found in different brain areas. The background image is the standard MNI_T1_1-mm template and the FA skeleton (green). Red-yellow voxels represent regions in which FA was significantly decreased in prelingually deaf children relative to healthy control children. Axial sections from Z = −14 to 32 in the MNI coordinate are shown. B, 3D view of the identified FA skeleton clusters (X = 90; Y = 103; and Z = 76).
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Fig 2.
White matter structures showing significantly increased RD in prelingually deaf children (corrected for multiple comparisons; P < .05), filled by use of the tbss_fill script of FSL to aid visualization. The background image is the standard MNI_T1_1-mm template and the FA skeleton (green). Red-yellow voxels represent regions in which RD was increased significantly in prelingually deaf children relative to healthy control children. Axial sections from Z = −14 to 32 in the MNI coordinate are shown.
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Fig 3.
Significant correlation between duration of sign language use and RD of the right STG, r = −0.518; P = .040.

Table 1:

Demographic data of children with prelingual deafness

Patient No	Age (y)	Sex	Hearing Loss (dB)	Use of CSL		Use of HA		Cause of Deafness
Patient No	Age (y)	Sex	Hearing Loss (dB)	Start Age (y)	Duration (y)	Start Age (y)	Duration (y)	Cause of Deafness
1	13	F	96.5	8	5	6	7	1
2	16	M	118	6	10	6	10	1
3	18	M	100	6	12	6	12	1
4	16	M	107.5	6	10	2	14	2
5	15	F	107.5	10	5	10	5	1
6	13	F	107.5	9	4	3	10	2
7	10	M	105	5	7	5	7	2
8	14	F	110	3	11	1.5	12.5	2
9	16	F	110	6	10	7	9	1
10	17	F	98.5	9	8	9	8	2
11	13	M	118.5	6.5	6.5	5	8	2
12	17	M	103	6	11	2	15	2
13	14	F	112.5	7	7	1.5	12.5	1
14	12	M	103.5	8	4	2.5	9.5	2
15	14	F	119	8	6	3	11	2
16	15	M	104.5	10	5	3	12	1

CSL indicates Chinese Sign Language; F, female; HA, hearing aid; M, male; 1, congenital cause of deafness; 2, deafness caused by exposure to ototoxic medication.

Table 3:

Skeleton clusters showing significantly decreased FA at P < .05

Cluster Index	Voxels	P Value	MNI Coordinates (mm)			Anatomic Region
Cluster Index	Voxels	P Value	X	Y	Z	Anatomic Region
1	619	.027	−5	−27	23	Corpus callosum
2	617	.028	52	−7	−6	R STG, R HG, R PP
3	73	.030	−47	−23	−1	L STG, L HG, L PP
4	36	.030	36	−14	−13	R external capsule
5	24	.030	20	−20	−6	R thalamus

L indicates left; MNI, Montreal Neurological Institute; PP, planum polare; R, right.

Table 5:

Correlation between biographic data and DTI metrics

	Metrics	Area	t	P value
Sign language	FA	L HG	0.61	.55
		R HG	1.17	.26
		L STG	1.25	.23
		R STG	1.72	.11
	RD	L HG	−1.11	.29
		R HG	−1.03	.32
		L STG	0.04	.97
		R STG	−2.26	.04^*
Hearing aids	FA	L HG	1.25	.23
		R HG	0.03	.98
		L STG	0.83	.42
		R STG	1.44	.17
	RD	L HG	−0.03	.98
		R HG	0.97	.35
		L STG	0.81	.43
		R STG	−0.68	.51