Abstract #0841
Tinnitus is associated with hyperactivity in the frontal lobe and reduced activity in the auditory cortex
Binu P Thomas 1,2 , Kamakshi Gopal 3 , Mira D'Souza 3 , Deng Mao 1 , and Hanzhang Lu 1
1
Advanced Imaging Research Center, University
of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas,
United States,
2
Department
of Bioengineering, University of Texas Southwestern
Medical Center/University of Texas at Arlington,
Arlington, Texas, United States,
3
Department
of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of North
Texas, Denton, Texas, United States
Tinnitus is a condition that causes perception of sound
in the absence of an auditory stimulus. Millions of
people are affected by this and yet the pathophysiology
is not well understood. Current consensus is that
tinnitus originates in the brain, so we measured
biomarkers of brain function using MRI. We found that
when tinnitus patients heard tones, at the same
frequency as their tinnitus, their brain showed
hyper-activations in the frontal lobe compared to
controls. Resting cerebral blood flow was lower in the
tinnitus patients in the auditory cortex, indicating
abnormal function. Thus, tinnitus patients brains are
hyper-attentive to sound, while their auditory cortex
showed diminished function.
This abstract and the presentation materials are available to members only;
a login is required.
Join Here