Altered intrinsic brain connectivity in misophonia, with and without hyperacusis

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Misophonia and loudness hyperacusis are sound intolerance conditions with significant overlap.
• Distinct neural underpinnings differentiating these conditions remain unclear.
• Understanding these differences is crucial for effective treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify neural connectivity markers distinguishing misophonia from hyperacusis.
• To investigate the neural basis of misophonia, both in isolation and when comorbid with hyperacusis.
• To explore potential targets for neuroscience-informed interventions.

Main Methods:

• Utilized resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data.
• Employed a machine learning framework to analyze over 85,000 functional connections.
• Categorized participants into misophonia-only (MI), misophonia with hyperacusis (MH), and control (CTR) groups via structured interviews.

Main Results:

• Machine learning models accurately distinguished MI and MH from CTR groups (63% and 67% accuracy, respectively).
• Shared neural alterations in misophonia were observed in salience, somatomotor, and frontoparietal networks.
• Distinct connectivity patterns were identified: basal ganglia/subcortex for MI, and higher-order visual networks for MH.

Conclusions:

• Established a neurobiological dissociation between misophonia and hyperacusis based on brain connectivity.
• Highlighted the importance of diagnostic separation for research and clinical practice.
• Identified specific brain networks (salience, control circuits) as potential targets for psychology-based misophonia interventions.