title: Altered interhemispheric functional coordination in chronic tinnitus patients.
abstract: Purpose. Recent studies suggest that tinnitus may be due in part to aberrant callosal structure and interhemispheric interaction. To explore this hypothesis we use a novel method, voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC), to examine the resting-state interhemispheric functional connectivity and its relationships with clinical characteristics in chronic tinnitus patients. Materials and Methods. Twenty-eight chronic tinnitus patients with normal hearing thresholds and 30 age-, sex-, education-, and hearing threshold-matched healthy controls were included in this study and underwent the resting-state fMRI scanning. We computed the VMHC to analyze the interhemispheric functional coordination between homotopic points of the brain in both groups. Results. Compared to the controls, tinnitus patients showed significantly increased VMHC in the middle temporal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, and superior occipital gyrus. In tinnitus patients, a positive correlation was found between tinnitus duration and VMHC of the uncus. Moreover, correlations between VMHC changes and tinnitus distress were observed in the transverse temporal gyrus, superior temporal pole, precentral gyrus, and calcarine cortex. Conclusions. These results show altered interhemispheric functional connectivity linked with specific tinnitus characteristics in chronic tinnitus patients, which may be implicated in the neuropathophysiology of tinnitus.
authors: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China ; Center for Hearing and Deafness, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA.
authors: Yu-Chen
authors: YC
authors: Chen
authors: Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China ; Center for Functional Neuroimaging, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
authors: Wenqing
authors: W
authors: Xia
authors: Department of Radiology, Nanjing First Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210006, China.
authors: Yuan
authors: 0000-0002-5192-5121
authors: Y
authors: Feng
authors: Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China.
authors: Xiaowei
authors: X
authors: Li
authors: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China.
authors: Jian
authors: J
authors: Zhang
authors: Department of Otolaryngology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China.
authors: Xu
authors: X
authors: Feng
authors: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China.
authors: Cong-Xiao
authors: CX
authors: Wang
authors: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China.
authors: Yu
authors: Y
authors: Cai
authors: Department of Physiology, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China ; School of Human Communication Disorders, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada B3J 1Y6.
authors: Jian
authors: J
authors: Wang
authors: Center for Hearing and Deafness, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA.
authors: Richard
authors: 0000-0001-9061-8602
authors: R
authors: Salvi
authors: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China.
authors: Gao-Jun
authors: GJ
authors: Teng
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000503:physiopathology*