title: Whole scalp resting state EEG of oscillatory brain activity shows no parametric relationship with psychoacoustic and psychosocial assessment of tinnitus: A repeated measures study.
abstract: Tinnitus is a perception of sound that can occur in the absence of an external stimulus. A brief review of electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) literature demonstrates that there is no clear relationship between tinnitus presence and frequency band power in whole scalp or source oscillatory activity. Yet a preconception persists that such a relationship exists and that resting state EEG could be utilised as an outcome measure for clinical trials of tinnitus interventions, e.g. as a neurophysiological marker of therapeutic benefit. To address this issue, we first examined the test-retest correlation of EEG band power measures in tinnitus patients (n = 42). Second we examined the evidence for a parametric relationship between numerous commonly used tinnitus variables (psychoacoustic and psychosocial) and whole scalp EEG power spectra, directly and after applying factor reduction techniques. Test-retest correlation for both EEG band power measures and tinnitus variables were high. Yet we found no relationship between whole scalp EEG band powers and psychoacoustic or psychosocial variables. We conclude from these data that resting state whole scalp EEG should not be used as a biomarker for tinnitus and that greater caution should be exercised in regard to reporting of findings to avoid confirmation bias. The data was collected during a randomised controlled trial registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT01541969).
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Nottingham Hearing Biomedical Research Unit Ropewalk House, 113 The Ropewalk, Nottingham NG1 5DU, UK; Otology and Hearing Group, Division of Clinical Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK. Electronic address: Robert.Pierzycki@nottingham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Robert H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Pierzycki
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Nottingham Hearing Biomedical Research Unit Ropewalk House, 113 The Ropewalk, Nottingham NG1 5DU, UK. Electronic address: AdamJonMcNamara@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Adam J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: McNamara
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Nottingham Hearing Biomedical Research Unit Ropewalk House, 113 The Ropewalk, Nottingham NG1 5DU, UK; Otology and Hearing Group, Division of Clinical Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK. Electronic address: Derek.Hoare@nottingham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Derek J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Hoare
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Nottingham Hearing Biomedical Research Unit Ropewalk House, 113 The Ropewalk, Nottingham NG1 5DU, UK; Otology and Hearing Group, Division of Clinical Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK. Electronic address: Deborah.Hall@nottingham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Deborah A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Hall
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009991:Oscillometry; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011571:Psychoacoustics; D012535:Scalp; D013997:Time Factors; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: Confirmation bias; EEG; Power analysis; Resting state; Thalamo-cortical dysrythmia; Tinnitus