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@ARTICLE{Fuxjger:285491,
author = {Fuxjäger, Isabelle S and Antons, Melissa and Marouane,
Emna and Leschiutta, Giulia and Oos, Rosel and Palumbo,
Giovanna and Steenken, Dilara and Lindner, Simon and
Ziegler, Sibylle and Bartenstein, Peter and Brendel,
Matthias and Werner, Rudolf and Zwergal, Andreas},
title = {{L}ongitudinal comparison of adaptive neuroplasticity in
two rat models of unilateral vestibulopathy by dual-tracer
[18{F}]{FDG} and [18{F}]{UCB}-{H} {PET}.},
journal = {NeuroImage},
volume = {329},
issn = {1053-8119},
address = {Orlando, Fla.},
publisher = {Academic Press},
reportid = {DZNE-2026-00267},
pages = {121821},
year = {2026},
abstract = {Animal models of acute unilateral vestibulopathy are well
established for the study of adaptive lesion-induced
neuroplasticity, because symptoms of acute vestibular
asymmetry such as nystagmus and postural imbalance recover
over time as central vestibular compensation mechanisms
commence action. The purpose of this study was to compare
these mechanisms in a postganglionic complete unilateral
vestibular neurectomy model (UVN) vs. a preganglionic
incomplete chemical unilateral labyrinthectomy model (cUL)
using a longitudinal [18F]FDG/[18F]UCB-H dual tracer
positron emission tomography (PET) approach accompanied by
multimodal behavioral testing. Twenty-four male Sprague
Dawley rats underwent either cUL or UVN. Postoperatively,
[18F]FDG PETs were conducted weekly for four weeks to depict
changes of [18F]FDG as a surrogate for functional
plasticity, and [18F]UCB-H PETs were carried out at three
time points over nine weeks to visualize alterations in
synaptic density indicating structural plasticity.
Behavioral recovery was assessed weekly using a clinical
scoring system and open field evaluation. Behavioral data
reflected comparable compensation dynamics between groups.
Both [18F]FDG and [18F]UCB-H PET revealed a similar spatial
pattern of brain regions involved in adaptive
neuroplasticity. However, while the relative extent of
[18F]FDG uptake in these networks was comparable across both
models, synaptic density changes were more pronounced in UVN
vs. cUL. Specifically, synaptic density in the vestibular
nuclei was significantly lower after UVN, accompanied by a
more intense compensatory increase in sensorimotor cortical
areas. In conclusion, synaptic density imaging may be a more
sensitive method to depict subtle differences in mechanisms
of lesion-induced adaptive neuroplasticity than traditional
techniques such as imaging of glucose metabolism.},
keywords = {Acute unilateral vestibulopathy (Other) / Animal models
(Other) / Dizziness (Other) / Neuroimaging (Other) /
Synaptic density (Other) / Unilateral chemical
labyrinthectomy (Other) / Unilateral vestibular neurectomy
(Other) / Vertigo (Other)},
cin = {AG Haass},
ddc = {610},
cid = {I:(DE-2719)1110007},
pnm = {352 - Disease Mechanisms (POF4-352)},
pid = {G:(DE-HGF)POF4-352},
typ = {PUB:(DE-HGF)16},
pubmed = {pmid:41722883},
doi = {10.1016/j.neuroimage.2026.121821},
url = {https://pub.dzne.de/record/285491},
}