Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 10, 2026

A Protocol for the Administration of Real-Time fMRI Neurofeedback Training
Published on: August 24, 2017
The role of neural plasticity in tinnitus
1School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75083-0688, USA. amoller@utdallas.edu
Abstract:
There is considerable evidence that expression of neural plasticity plays a central role in the development of the abnormalities that cause many forms of tinnitus. Expression of neural plasticity can change the balance between excitation and inhibition, promote hyperactivity, and cause re-organization of specific parts of the nervous system or redirection of information to parts of the nervous system not normally involved in processing of sounds (such as the non-classical, or extralemniscal pathways). The strongest promoter of expression of neural plasticity is deprivation of input, which explains why tinnitus often occurs together with hearing loss or injury to the auditory nerve.
Related Concept Videos
Neuroplasticity
The Cochlea
Hearing
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by identifying...
Auditory Pathway
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...
Plasticity

