Duration-Dependent Neural Oscillations and Connectivity Patterns in Tinnitus: A rs-fMRI Study
Poster No:
1362
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Himanshu Pandey1, Amit Keshri2, Neeraj Sinha1, Uttam Kumar1
Institutions:
1Centre of Biomedical Research, AcSIR, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, 2Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
First Author:
Co-Author(s):
Introduction:
Subjective tinnitus and is characterized by the perception of noises such as ringing or buzzing without any external stimulus which affects around 14% of adults worldwide. [1] Tinnitus is caused by maladaptive neuroplasticity, which impairs emotional and cognitive stability by inducing hyperactivity in auditory regions and hypoactivity in non-auditory areas. [2, 3] Because chronic tinnitus causes structural abnormalities in the precuneus, parietal lobule, and cingulate cortex, [4] early management or therapy is essential.
Methods:
Participants: This study has 79 participants with 58 with subjective tinnitus (ST) (36 males, 22 females; mean age: 38.73 ± 12.32 years) and 21 age-matched healthy controls (14 males and 7 females; mean age: 37.43 ± 11.64 years). The ST group was divided into three categories based on tinnitus duration: <6 months (14 patients), 6-18 months (23 patients), and >18 months (21). The average THI score was 51.39 ± 26.43, the HAM-A score was 14.48 ± 7.59, and tinnitus duration ranged from 6 to 60 months (mean: 22.29 ± 21.23). Participants with neurological, psychological, or addictive issues were eliminated. Ethical approval and informed consent were obtained.
Data Acquisition: Imaging was carried out at CBMR using a 3T Siemens Magnetom Skyra scanner. Resting-state fMRI (TR = 2000 ms, TE = 30 ms, voxel size = 3.5 mm³, 180 volumes) and T1-weighted structural scans (1-mm isotropic) were performed.
Pre-Processing: CONN and SPM were used for realignment, normalization (MNI space), smoothing, and denoising (0.008-0.09 Hz). The ALFF and LCOR metrics were computed. GLM was used to compare groups, with thresholds set at p < 0.001 (voxel) and FDR p < 0.05 (cluster). [6]
Data Acquisition: Imaging was carried out at CBMR using a 3T Siemens Magnetom Skyra scanner. Resting-state fMRI (TR = 2000 ms, TE = 30 ms, voxel size = 3.5 mm³, 180 volumes) and T1-weighted structural scans (1-mm isotropic) were performed.
Pre-Processing: CONN and SPM were used for realignment, normalization (MNI space), smoothing, and denoising (0.008-0.09 Hz). The ALFF and LCOR metrics were computed. GLM was used to compare groups, with thresholds set at p < 0.001 (voxel) and FDR p < 0.05 (cluster). [6]
Results:
ALFF Analysis: As compared to healthy controls tinnitus patients Group 1 (<6 months): Increased ALFF values in the right cerebellum, L inferior temporal, and thalamus; decreased values in the R inferior orbitofrontal, R superior frontal, R calcarine, R lingual gyrus, R mid occipital, and L temporal pole regions.
Group 2 (6-18 months): increased ALFF values L sup frontal, L insula, R heschel's gyrus, and R orbitofrontal; decreased values in right frontal pole, L inf temporal bilateral cerebellum (lobules 8/9) regions.
Group 3 (>18 months) increased ALFF values in the left temporal pole, left orbitofrontal, subcallosal cortex, and right amygdala; but decreased values in the left frontal pole and left cerebellum regions. (Figure1 A-C)
LCOR Analysis: As compared to healthy controls tinnitus patients Group 1 (<6 months) showed increased LCOR values in R cerebellum (lobules 2 & 6), L inf orbitofrontal, and decreased LCOR values R lingual gyrus and Precuneus regions.
Group 2 (6-18 months): Increased LCOR values in the left middle/superior frontal, frontal pole, and orbitofrontal; decreased values in the right mid occipital, amygdala, calcarine, putamen, and caudate regions.
Group 3 (>18 months): Increased LCOR values in the R superior/middle temporal; decreased values in the L inferior orbitofrontal and L caudate regions. (Figure2 A-C)
Group 2 (6-18 months): increased ALFF values L sup frontal, L insula, R heschel's gyrus, and R orbitofrontal; decreased values in right frontal pole, L inf temporal bilateral cerebellum (lobules 8/9) regions.
Group 3 (>18 months) increased ALFF values in the left temporal pole, left orbitofrontal, subcallosal cortex, and right amygdala; but decreased values in the left frontal pole and left cerebellum regions. (Figure1 A-C)
LCOR Analysis: As compared to healthy controls tinnitus patients Group 1 (<6 months) showed increased LCOR values in R cerebellum (lobules 2 & 6), L inf orbitofrontal, and decreased LCOR values R lingual gyrus and Precuneus regions.
Group 2 (6-18 months): Increased LCOR values in the left middle/superior frontal, frontal pole, and orbitofrontal; decreased values in the right mid occipital, amygdala, calcarine, putamen, and caudate regions.
Group 3 (>18 months): Increased LCOR values in the R superior/middle temporal; decreased values in the L inferior orbitofrontal and L caudate regions. (Figure2 A-C)
·Figure 1. ALFF analysis of tinnitus patients vs. healthy: Group 1 (<6 months), Group 2 (6-18 months), and Group 3 (>18 months). Red shows increased activity, blue shows decreased activity.
·Figure 2. LCOR analysis of tinnitus patients vs. healthy: Group 1 (<6 months), Group 2 (6-18 months), and Group 3 (>18 months). Red shows increased activity, blue shows decreased activity.
Conclusions:
This study investigates the relationship between tinnitus duration and brain activity. Early tinnitus (<6 months) causes increased thalamic and cerebellar activity, [5, 7] indicating sensory processing and emotional regulation abnormalities in the right inferior orbitofrontal cortex. [8] Auditory-emotional links strengthen in intermediate tinnitus (6-18 months), with increased activity in the insula, fusiform, and Heschl's gyrus, while cognitive control declines. [9] Chronic tinnitus (>18 months) is characterized by persistent alterations, including increased activity in auditory areas, and decreased orbitofrontal and caudate activity, indicating impaired emotional control.
This study of tinnitus brain networks could lead to specific therapies such as neurostimulation, cognitive behavioral therapy, or medication approaches that target specific brain regions.
This study of tinnitus brain networks could lead to specific therapies such as neurostimulation, cognitive behavioral therapy, or medication approaches that target specific brain regions.
Modeling and Analysis Methods:
Connectivity (eg. functional, effective, structural)
fMRI Connectivity and Network Modeling 1
Neuroanatomy, Physiology, Metabolism and Neurotransmission:
Anatomy and Functional Systems
Novel Imaging Acquisition Methods:
BOLD fMRI
Perception, Attention and Motor Behavior:
Perception: Multisensory and Crossmodal 2
Keywords:
FUNCTIONAL MRI
Other - Tinnitus, rs-fMRI, ALFF, LCOR, Neuroplasticity
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
Abstract Information
By submitting your proposal, you grant permission for the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) to distribute your work in any format, including video, audio print and electronic text through OHBM OnDemand, social media channels, the OHBM website, or other electronic publications and media.
The Open Science Special Interest Group (OSSIG) is introducing a reproducibility challenge for OHBM 2025. This new initiative aims to enhance the reproducibility of scientific results and foster collaborations between labs. Teams will consist of a “source” party and a “reproducing” party, and will be evaluated on the success of their replication, the openness of the source work, and additional deliverables. Click here for more information. Propose your OHBM abstract(s) as source work for future OHBM meetings by selecting one of the following options:
Please indicate below if your study was a "resting state" or "task-activation” study.
Healthy subjects only or patients (note that patient studies may also involve healthy subjects):
Was this research conducted in the United States?
Were any human subjects research approved by the relevant Institutional Review Board or ethics panel? NOTE: Any human subjects studies without IRB approval will be automatically rejected.
Were any animal research approved by the relevant IACUC or other animal research panel? NOTE: Any animal studies without IACUC approval will be automatically rejected.
Please indicate which methods were used in your research:
For human MRI, what field strength scanner do you use?
Which processing packages did you use for your study?
Provide references using APA citation style.
2- Eggermont, J. J. (2024). Neuroplasticity of the Auditory System. In Textbook of Tinnitus (pp. 149-163). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
3- De Ridder, D., & Vanneste, S. (2014). Targeting the parahippocampal area by auditory cortex stimulation in tinnitus. Brain stimulation, 7(5), 709-717.
4- Pandey, H. R., Keshri, A., Singh, A., Sinha, N., & Kumar, U. (2024). Using ALE coordinate-based meta-analysis to observe resting-state brain abnormalities in subjective tinnitus. Brain Imaging and Behavior, 1-14. (a)
5- Pandey, H. R., Keshri, A., Sinha, N., & Kumar, U. (2024). Neuroanatomical correlates of subjective tinnitus: insights from advanced cortical morphology analysis. Cerebral Cortex, 34(11), bhae432. (b)
6- Whitfield-Gabrieli, S., & Nieto-Castanon, A. (2012). Conn: a functional connectivity toolbox for correlated and anticorrelated brain networks. Brain connectivity, 2(3), 125-141.
7- Vanneste, S., & De Ridder, D. (2021). Chronic pain as a brain imbalance between pain input and pain suppression. Brain Communications, 3(1), fcab014.
8- Chen, S., Yang, X., Jiang, Y., Wu, F., Li, Y., Qiu, J., ... & Liu, Y. (2023). Associations between physical activity, tinnitus, and tinnitus severity. Ear and Hearing, 44(3), 619-626.
9- Hu, J., Cui, J., Xu, J. J., Yin, X., Wu, Y., & Qi, J. (2021). The neural mechanisms of tinnitus: a perspective from functional magnetic resonance imaging. Frontiers in neuroscience, 15, 621145.