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Updated: Apr 16, 2026
A Protocol for the Administration of Real-Time fMRI Neurofeedback Training
Published on: August 24, 2017
Altered intra- and interregional synchronization in resting-state cerebral networks associated with chronic tinnitus
Yu-Chen Chen1, Jian Zhang2, Xiao-Wei Li3
1Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China ; Center for Hearing and Deafness, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA.
Objective:
Subjective tinnitus is hypothesized to arise from aberrant neural activity; however, its neural bases are poorly understood. To identify aberrant neural networks involved in chronic tinnitus, we compared the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) patterns of tinnitus patients and healthy controls.
Materials And Methods:
Resting-state fMRI measurements were obtained from a group of chronic tinnitus patients (n = 29) with normal hearing and well-matched healthy controls (n = 30). Regional homogeneity (ReHo) analysis and functional connectivity analysis were used to identify abnormal brain activity; these abnormalities were compared to tinnitus distress.
Results:
Relative to healthy controls, tinnitus patients had significant greater ReHo values in several brain regions including the bilateral anterior insula (AI), left inferior frontal gyrus, and right supramarginal gyrus. Furthermore, the left AI showed enhanced functional connectivity with the left middle frontal gyrus (MFG), while the right AI had enhanced functional connectivity with the right MFG; these measures were positively correlated with Tinnitus Handicap Questionnaires (r = 0.459, P = 0.012 and r = 0.479, P = 0.009, resp.).
Conclusions:
Chronic tinnitus patients showed abnormal intra- and interregional synchronization in several resting-state cerebral networks; these abnormalities were correlated with clinical tinnitus distress. These results suggest that tinnitus distress is exacerbated by attention networks that focus on internally generated phantom sounds.
