Brain stimulation techniques are important in both basic and clinical studies. Majority of well-known brain stimulating techniques have low spatial resolution or entail invasive processes. Low intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) seems to be a proper candidate for dealing with such deficiencies. This review recapitulates studies which explored the effects of LIFU on brain structures and its function, in both research and clinical areas.Although the mechanism of LIFU action is still unclear, its different effects from molecular level up to behavioral level can be explored in animal and human brain. It can also be coupled with brain imaging assessments in future research.
Individuals suffering from tinnitus frequently report sleep disturbances. The most common sleep-related complaint among tinnitus patients, insomnia, may even remain unresolved despite adequate and specific treatments of tinnitus. The more severe the tinnitus, the more patients report impaired sleep. Given the fact that sleep disorders potentially affect physical and mental health, patients with tinnitus would require a special diagnostic and therapeutic care. Subjective (sleep questionnaires and self-rated psychometric evaluations) and objective (polysomnographic recording) assessments in Sleep-Disturbed Tinnitus Patients (SDTPs) have similar parameters compared to subjects with insomnia. However, as the elderly subjects have higher prevalence of organic sleep disorders, special care is needed regarding the differential diagnostic measures. Treatment of insomnia in SDTPs is commonly based on the use of hypnotics, with or without insomnia-specific psychotherapy. Similarly, cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia is shown to ameliorate both insomnia and tinnitus. This review article discusses sleep and insomnia based on a recently-proposed neurofunctional tinnitus model.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.