title: Increased Frontal Response May Underlie Decreased Tinnitus Severity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The overall goal of the study was to identify functional and behavioral differences between individuals with higher tinnitus distress and individuals with lower tinnitus distress. Subsequent exploratory analyses were conducted to investigate the role physical activity may have on the observed results between high and low distress groups. The purpose of the experiment was to identify brain regions to be targeted in future intervention studies for tinnitus.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 32 individuals with varying levels of tinnitus severity were recruited from the Urbana-Champaign area. Volunteers were divided into higher tinnitus distress (HD) and lower tinnitus distress (LD) groups. Note that these groups also significantly differed based on physical activity level and were subsequently stratified into higher and lower physical activity level subgroups for exploratory analysis. While in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner, subjects listened to affective sounds classified as pleasant, neutral or unpleasant from the International Affective Digital Sounds database.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The HD group recruited amygdala and parahippocampus to a greater extent than the LD group when listening to affective sounds. The LD group engaged frontal regions to a greater extent when listening to the affective stimuli compared to the HD group. Both higher physical activity level subgroups recruited more frontal regions, and both lower levels of physical activity subgroups recruited more limbic regions respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Individuals with lower tinnitus distress may utilize frontal regions to better control their emotional response to affective sounds. Our analysis also suggests physical activity may contribute to lower tinnitus severity and greater engagement of the frontal cortices. We suggest that future intervention studies focus on changes in the function of limbic and frontal regions when evaluating the efficacy of treatment. Additionally, we recommend further investigation concerning the impact of physical activity level on tinnitus distress.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, United States of America.|Medical Scholars Program, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, United States of America.|Beckman Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jake R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Carpenter-Thompson
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, United States of America.|Beckman Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, United States of America.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, United States of America.|Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, United States of America.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: McAuley
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, United States of America.|Department of Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, United States of America.|Beckman Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, United States of America.
authors.forename: Fatima T
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Husain
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000679:Amygdala / Q000503:physiopathology; D001299:Audiometry; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011930:Reaction Time; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*