Aberrant spontaneous brain activity in chronic tinnitus patients revealed by resting-state functional MRI.
OBJECTIVE
The neural mechanisms that give rise to the phantom sound of tinnitus are poorly understood. This study aims to investigate whether aberrant spontaneous brain activity exists in chronic tinnitus patients using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique.


METHODS
A total of 31 patients with chronic tinnitus patients and 32 healthy age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy controls were prospectively examined. Both groups had normal hearing thresholds. We calculated the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFFs) of fMRI signals to measure spontaneous neuronal activity and detect the relationship between fMRI information and clinical data of tinnitus.


RESULTS
Compared with healthy controls, we observed significant increased ALFF within several selected regions including the right middle temporal gyrus (MTG), right superior frontal gyrus (SFG), and right angular gyrus; decreased ALFF was detected in the left cuneus, right middle occipital gyrus and bilateral thalamus. Moreover, tinnitus distress correlated positively with increased ALFF in right MTG and right SFG; tinnitus duration correlated positively with higher ALFF values in right SFG.


CONCLUSIONS
The present study confirms that chronic tinnitus patients have aberrant ALFF in many brain regions, which is associated with specific clinical tinnitus characteristics. ALFF disturbance in specific brain regions might be used to identify the neuro-pathophysiological mechanisms in chronic tinnitus patients.
Department of Radiology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Imaging, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
Yu-Chen
YC
Chen
Department of Radiology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Imaging, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
Jian
J
Zhang
Department of Physiology, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
Xiao-Wei
XW
Li
Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
Wenqing
W
Xia
Department of Otolaryngology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
Xu
X
Feng
Department of Radiology, Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital, Yantai, Shandong, China.
Bo
B
Gao
Department of Radiology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Imaging, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
Sheng-Hong
SH
Ju
Department of Physiology, Southeast University, Nanjing, China ; School of Human Communication Disorders, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Jian
J
Wang
Center for Hearing and Deafness, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA.
Richard
R
Salvi
Department of Radiology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Imaging, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
Gao-Jun
GJ
Teng
D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012146:Rest; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult
ALFF; Chronic tinnitus; fMRI