Notched Sound Alleviates Tinnitus by Reorganization Emotional Center

Abstract

BackgroundTinnitus is a common disease, and sound therapy is an effective method to alleviate it. Previous studies have shown that notched sound not only changes levels of cortical blood oxygen, but affects blood oxygen in specific cerebral cortical areas, such as Brodmann area 46 (BA46), which is associated with emotion. Extensive evidence has confirmed that tinnitus is closely related to emotion. Whether notched sound plays a role in regulating the emotional center is still unclear.MethodsThis study included 29 patients with newly diagnosed chronic tinnitus who were treated with notched sound. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was conducted before and after treatment to observe bilateral changes in cortical blood oxygen in the cerebral hemispheres. We compared the changes in connectivity between the two regions of interest (the superior temporal gyrus and BA46), as wells as other cortical regions before and after treatment.ResultsThe results showed (1) That global connectivity between the bilateral auditory cortex of the superior temporal sulcus and the ipsilateral cortex did not change significantly between baseline and the completion of treatment, and (2) That the connectivity between channel 14 and the right superior temporal sulcus decreased after treatment. The overall connectivity between the right BA46 region and the right cortex decreased after treatment, and decreases in connectivity after treatment were specifically found for channels 10 and 14 in the right parietal lobe and channels 16, 20, 21, and 22 in the frontal lobe, while there was no significant change on the left side. There were no significant changes in the questionnaire measures of tinnitus, anxiety, or depression before and after treatment.ConclusionThe results of the study indicate that cerebral cortex reorganization occurs in tinnitus patients after submitted to treatment with notched sound for 1 month, and that notched sound decreases the connectivity between the auditory cortex and specific brain regions.SignificanceNotched sound not only regulates the auditory center through lateral inhibition, but also alleviates tinnitus by reorganizing the emotional control center.

Recognition of Different Turning Behaviors of Pilots Based on Flight Simulator and fNIRS Data

“…Several scholars have found that BA46 is a key node in the cognitive control network that supports working memory [41]. BA46 is thought to be involved in cognitive and behavioural tasks related to emotional behaviour and affect regulation [42], and the importance and urgency of turn manoeuvres may trigger pilots' emotional responses. In summary, the results of this study suggest that the different steering behaviours of pilots are mainly related to BA17, BA18 and BA46.…”

Tinnitus und multimodale kortikale Interaktion

“…Currently, the number of sensors used is relatively small, so that a priori decisions must be made as to which regions’ activity will be recorded and evaluated. Initial studies indicate that cortical changes in tinnitus are not limited to auditory regions 55 , but also affect emotion-relevant regions 56 .…”

“…Erste Untersuchungen weisen auch hier daraufhin, dass sich kortikale Veränderungen bei Tinnitus nicht auf auditive Regionen beschränken 55 , sondern auch hier z. B. emotionsrelevante Regionen betreffen 56 .…”

Application of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in tinnitus research: contemporary insights and perspectives

“…The other study (Huang et al, 2021) used fNIRS to assessed changes in resting cortical function before and after 1-month notched sound treatment in 21 tinnitus patients. Results indicate that notched sound treatment induced stable cortical reorganization.…”