Abstract：
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to explore the functional connectivity (FC) of the cerebellum during the storage phase of micturition, through detecting spontaneous blood-oxygen-level dependent signal between the cerebellum and different brain regions using a high-resolution 7 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner.
METHODS: We recruited healthy individuals with no reported history of neurological disease or lower urinary tract (LUT) symptoms. Participants were asked to drink 500 mL of water and then empty their bladders before entering the MRI scanner. They underwent a T1-weighted anatomical scan, followed by an initial (8 min) empty bladder resting state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) acquisition. Once subjects felt the desire to void, a second rs-fMRI scan was obtained, this time with a full bladder state. We established a priori cerebellar regions of interest from the literature to perform seed-to-voxel analysis using nonparametric statistics based on the Threshold Free Cluster Enhancement method and utilized a voxel threshold of p < 0.05.
RESULTS: Twenty individuals (10 male and 10 female) with a median age of 25 years (IQR [3.5]) participated in the study. We placed 31 different 4-mm spherical seeds throughout the cerebellum and assessed their FC with the remainder of the brain. Three of these (left cerebellar tonsil, right posterolateral lobe, right posterior lobe) showed significant differences in connectivity when comparing scans conducted with a full bladder to those with an empty bladder. Additionally, we observed sex differences in FC, with connectivity being higher in women during the empty bladder condition.
CONCLUSIONS: Our initial findings reveal, for the first time, that the connectivity of the cerebellar network is modulated by bladder filling and is associated with LUT function. Unraveling the cerebellum\'s role in bladder function lays the foundation for a more comprehensive understanding of urinary pathologies affecting this area.
METHODS: We recruited healthy individuals with no reported history of neurological disease or lower urinary tract (LUT) symptoms. Participants were asked to drink 500 mL of water and then empty their bladders before entering the MRI scanner. They underwent a T1-weighted anatomical scan, followed by an initial (8 min) empty bladder resting state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) acquisition. Once subjects felt the desire to void, a second rs-fMRI scan was obtained, this time with a full bladder state. We established a priori cerebellar regions of interest from the literature to perform seed-to-voxel analysis using nonparametric statistics based on the Threshold Free Cluster Enhancement method and utilized a voxel threshold of p < 0.05.
RESULTS: Twenty individuals (10 male and 10 female) with a median age of 25 years (IQR [3.5]) participated in the study. We placed 31 different 4-mm spherical seeds throughout the cerebellum and assessed their FC with the remainder of the brain. Three of these (left cerebellar tonsil, right posterolateral lobe, right posterior lobe) showed significant differences in connectivity when comparing scans conducted with a full bladder to those with an empty bladder. Additionally, we observed sex differences in FC, with connectivity being higher in women during the empty bladder condition.
CONCLUSIONS: Our initial findings reveal, for the first time, that the connectivity of the cerebellar network is modulated by bladder filling and is associated with LUT function. Unraveling the cerebellum\'s role in bladder function lays the foundation for a more comprehensive understanding of urinary pathologies affecting this area.
摘要：
目的：本研究的目的是探索小脑在排尿储存阶段的功能连通性（FC），通过使用高分辨率7特斯拉磁共振成像（MRI）扫描仪检测小脑和不同大脑区域之间的自发血氧水平依赖性信号。
方法：我们招募了没有神经疾病史或下尿路（LUT）症状的健康个体。参与者被要求喝500毫升的水，然后在进入MRI扫描仪之前清空他们的膀胱。他们接受了T1加权解剖扫描,然后进行初始（8分钟）空膀胱静息状态功能MRI（rs-fMRI）采集。一旦受试者感到渴望虚空，获得了第二次rs-fMRI扫描，这次是完全的膀胱状态。我们从文献中建立了感兴趣的先验小脑区域，以基于阈值自由聚类增强方法使用非参数统计进行种子到体素分析，并利用p<0.05的体素阈值。
结果：20名个体（10名男性和10名女性），中位年龄为25岁（IQR[3.5]）参与研究。我们在整个小脑中放置了31个不同的4毫米球形种子，并用大脑的其余部分评估了它们的FC。其中三个(左小脑扁桃体，右后外侧叶,将充满膀胱的扫描与空膀胱的扫描进行比较时，右后叶）显示出连通性的显着差异。此外,我们观察到FC的性别差异，在空膀胱状态下，女性的连通性更高。
结论：我们的初步发现表明，第一次,小脑网络的连通性受膀胱充盈调节，并与LUT功能相关。揭示小脑在膀胱功能中的作用为更全面地了解影响该区域的泌尿系病理奠定了基础。
方法：我们招募了没有神经疾病史或下尿路（LUT）症状的健康个体。参与者被要求喝500毫升的水，然后在进入MRI扫描仪之前清空他们的膀胱。他们接受了T1加权解剖扫描,然后进行初始（8分钟）空膀胱静息状态功能MRI（rs-fMRI）采集。一旦受试者感到渴望虚空，获得了第二次rs-fMRI扫描，这次是完全的膀胱状态。我们从文献中建立了感兴趣的先验小脑区域，以基于阈值自由聚类增强方法使用非参数统计进行种子到体素分析，并利用p<0.05的体素阈值。
结果：20名个体（10名男性和10名女性），中位年龄为25岁（IQR[3.5]）参与研究。我们在整个小脑中放置了31个不同的4毫米球形种子，并用大脑的其余部分评估了它们的FC。其中三个(左小脑扁桃体，右后外侧叶,将充满膀胱的扫描与空膀胱的扫描进行比较时，右后叶）显示出连通性的显着差异。此外,我们观察到FC的性别差异，在空膀胱状态下，女性的连通性更高。
结论：我们的初步发现表明，第一次,小脑网络的连通性受膀胱充盈调节，并与LUT功能相关。揭示小脑在膀胱功能中的作用为更全面地了解影响该区域的泌尿系病理奠定了基础。
