A Possible Role of Prolonged Whirling Episodes on Structural Plasticity of the Cortical Networks and Altered Vertigo Perception: The Cortex of Sufi Whirling Dervishes

Cakmak Y. O., EKİNCİ G., Heinecke A., Cavdar S.

FRONTIERS IN HUMAN NEUROSCIENCE, vol.11, 2017 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 11
  • Publication Date: 2017
  • Doi Number: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00003
  • Journal Name: FRONTIERS IN HUMAN NEUROSCIENCE
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Keywords: cortex, whirling, meditation, vertigo, vestibular, plasticity, TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION, DORSOLATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX, LONG-TERM MEDITATION, HUMAN FUSIFORM GYRUS, HUMAN BRAIN, GRAY-MATTER, FUNCTIONAL NEUROANATOMY, VEGETATIVE STATE, CONSCIOUS STATES, THICKNESS
  • Marmara University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Although minutes of a spinning episode may induce vertigo in the healthy human, as a result of a possible perceptional plasticity, Sufi Whirling Dervishes (SWDs) can spin continuously for an hour without a vertigo perception.This unique long term vestibular system stimulation presents a potential human model to clarify the cortical networks underlying the resistance against vertigo. This study, therefore, aimed to investigate the potential structural cortical plasticity in SWDs. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of 10 SWDs and 10 controls were obtained, using a 3T scanner. Cortical thickness in the whole cortex was calculated. Results demonstrated significantly thinner cortical areas for SWD subjects compared with the control group in the hubs of the default mode network (DMN), as well as in the motion perception and discrimination areas including the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), the right lingual gyrus and the left visual area 5 (V5)/middle temporal (MT) and the left fusiform gyrus. In conclusion, this is the first report that warrants the potential relationship of the motion/body perception related cortical networks and the prolonged term of whirling ability without vertigo or dizziness.