Neuro-sensory approach

In Lille, Dr. Dominique Rousié uses an MRI technique that allows for in vivo mapping of the microstructure and organization of brain tissue. His work has highlighted two fundamental points.

• No macroscopic alterations are present in patients with scoliosis.
• Alterations in the microstructure of white matter are present: there are fewer fibers and a deficit of myelination in the corpus callosum and corticospinal tract, at the level of the pons (brain stem). Abnormal sensory and motor integration at the level of the pons may therefore be associated with the development of idiopathic scoliosis.

At Laval University (Canada), Professor Martin Simoneau analyzes the sensorimotor mechanisms that may play a role in the onset and progression of idiopathic scoliosis.
He has identified asymmetry in the descending (corticospinal) pathways in patients with idiopathic scoliosis.
Professor Christine Assaiante (CNRS, Marseille) has demonstrated differences in frontal cortex connectivity between patients with scoliosis and healthy controls. It appears that children with scoliosis may experience comparative delayed maturation.

At the Weizmann Institute of Science in Revohot, Israel, Professor Elazar Zelzer and his team highlighted the role of trunk proprioception. Using an animal model (mutant mice with sensory neuron deficiency), they studied the central role of trunk proprioception and showed that the removal of a key mechanoreceptor involved in trunk proprioception (muscle bundles) induces severe scoliosis in mice. A second project focuses on the study of a protein, PIEZO 2, involved in mechanotransduction.
A patient with idiopathic scoliosis sees himself as straighter than he actually is: he suffers from dysmorphophobia. The rehabilitation objectives in the management of adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis have been modified.
Ablation of this gene again results in scoliosis in an animal model.

In Villeneuve d’Ascq, Dr. Jean-François Catanzariti worked on evaluating the sense of verticality and concluded that people with scoliosis have a distorted perception of it.
Patients have an erroneous understanding of the shape of their back and difficulty aligning their trunk vertically. The origin of this anomaly could be related to the perception of gravity and trunk proprioception, which opens the door to studies focused on trunk proprioception in humans.