{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T15:11:23Z","timestamp":1789398683774,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,1]],"date-time":"2026-04-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1775001600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"General Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China","award":["82472614"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["82472614"]}]},{"name":"the Key Project of Yuanshen Rehabilitation Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine","award":["yskf2-23-1107-3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["yskf2-23-1107-3"]}]},{"award":["yskf2-23-1107-3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["yskf2-23-1107-3"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/0220qvk04","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: This systematic review synthesizes MRI evidence to characterize neuromorphological alterations in somatosensory and vestibular brain regions among adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Methods: This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. We systematically searched five databases from inception to January 2026 for case\u2013control MRI studies comparing AIS patients (10\u201318 years) with healthy controls. Two reviewers independently screened studies, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias using the Newcastle\u2013Ottawa Scale. Results: Across 15 studies (1270 participants), AIS patients demonstrated consistent neuromorphological alterations: (1) lower cerebellar tonsil position (0.9\u20132.8 mm below baseline), with ectopia incidence correlating with curve severity; (2) cortical thickening in bilateral medial regions but thinning in left paracentral areas; (3) left-dominant white matter volume increases and impaired microstructure in the corpus callosum; and (4) left-sided vestibular morphological changes, including a more vertical semicircular canal. Conclusions: AIS is associated with consistent neuromorphological alterations in key somatosensory and vestibular regions, supporting a potential neuroanatomical basis for impaired sensorimotor integration in its pathogenesis. It should be noted that substantial heterogeneity among the included studies prevented a meta-analysis, and the cross-sectional design limits causal interpretations Registration: This systematic review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42024577195).<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children13040499","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,2]],"date-time":"2026-04-02T09:26:12Z","timestamp":1775121972000},"page":"499","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Neuromorphological Alterations in the Somatosensory System of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Systematic Review of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Qikai","family":"Wu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, Xinhua Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200092, China"},{"name":"Yuanshen Rehabilitation Institute, Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences, Shanghai 201318, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhengquan","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanghai Yangpu District Mental Health Center, Shanghai 200093, China"},{"name":"School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, Royal Melburne Institute of Technology University, Bundoora, VIC 3083, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5818-2068","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kang","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, Xinhua Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200092, China"},{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People\u2019s Hospital, 600 Yishan Rd, Shanghai 200233, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xin","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, Xinhua Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200092, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Haibin","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, Xinhua Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200092, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiangyue","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, Xinhua Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200092, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Juping","family":"Liang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, Xinhua Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200092, China"},{"name":"Yuanshen Rehabilitation Institute, Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences, Shanghai 201318, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qing","family":"Du","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, Xinhua Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200092, China"},{"name":"Yuanshen Rehabilitation Institute, Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences, Shanghai 201318, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.1186\/s13013-017-0145-8","article-title":"2016 SOSORT guidelines: Orthopaedic and rehabilitation treatment of idiopathic scoliosis during growth","volume":"13","author":"Negrini","year":"2018","journal-title":"Scoliosis Spinal Disord."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1527","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(08)60658-3","article-title":"Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis","volume":"371","author":"Weinstein","year":"2008","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.1007\/s11832-012-0457-4","article-title":"Epidemiology of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis","volume":"7","author":"Konieczny","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. 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