Objective. We investigated the changes of the vestibulospinal tract (VST) and parietoinsular vestibular cortex (PIVC) using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and relation to balance between old and young healthy adults. Methods. This study recruited eleven old adults (6 males, 5 females; mean age years) and 12 young adults (7 males, 5 females; mean age years). The lateral and medial VST and PIVC were reconstructed using DTI. Fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), and tract volume were measured. The six-minute walk test (6-MWT), the timed up and go test (TUG), and the Berg balance scale (BBS) were conducted. Spatiotemporal parameters during tandem gait and values of sway during one-leg standing using the wearable sensors were measured. All parameters between two groups were analyzed by the Mann-Whitney test and independent -test. Results. Statistically significant decrease in old adults was detected in the tract volume of lateral () and medial VST () and PIVC (). A significant decrease in FA of lateral VST () and MD of medial VST () was seen in old adults. Stride length () and velocity () during tandem gait in old adults were significantly decreased. 6MWT () showed significant decrease, while TUG () showed significant increase in old adults. However, mean BSS () was nonsignificantly different. In eyes-open condition during one-leg standing, all parameters except for reciprocal compensatory index (RCI) values were significantly decreased in old adults. The RCI in the anteroposterior (AP) direction () was increased in old adults; however, the mediolateral direction () was nonsignificantly different between the two groups. In eye-closed condition, the changes of ankle () and hip () sway and the center of mass in the AP direction () showed to be significantly higher in old adults than in young adults. Conclusion. The results suggested that there was a relationship between DTI parameters in the vestibular neural pathway and balance according to aging.

中文翻译：

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核心前庭投射通路中与年龄相关的变化与平衡能力之间的关联：扩散张量成像研究。

客观的。我们使用扩散张量成像 (DTI) 研究了前庭脊髓束 (VST) 和顶叶前庭皮质 (PIVC) 的变化以及与老年人和年轻健康成年人之间平衡的关系。方法。本研究招募了 11 名老年人（6 名男性，5 名女性；平均年龄岁）和 12 名年轻人（7 名男性，5 名女性；平均年龄年）。使用 DTI 重建外侧和内侧 VST 和 PIVC。测量了分数各向异性 (FA)、平均扩散率 (MD) 和管道体积。进行了六分钟步行测试（6-MWT）、定时起跑测试（TUG）和伯格平衡量表（BBS）。使用可穿戴传感器测量了串联步态期间的时空参数和单腿站立期间的摇摆值。通过Mann - Whitney检验和独立检验分析两组之间的所有参数。结果。在老年人的侧向道体积中检测到统计学上显着的减少（)和内侧 VST ()和 PIVC (）。横向 VST 的 FA 显着降低（)和内侧 VST 的 MD ()见于老年人。步幅 （)和速度 ()在老年人串联步态期间显着下降。6MWT（)显着下降，而 TUG ()显示老年人显着增加。然而，平均 BSS ()没有显着差异。在单腿站立期间睁眼的情况下，除互惠补偿指数（RCI）值外，老年人的所有参数均显着降低。前后 (AP) 方向的 RCI ()在老年人中增加；然而，中外侧方向（)两组之间没有显着差异。闭眼状态下，踝关节的变化（)和臀部 ()摆动和重心在 AP 方向 ()表明老年人明显高于年轻人。结论。结果表明，前庭神经通路中的 DTI 参数与年龄平衡之间存在关系。