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Abnormal White Matter Functional-Structural Coupling in Noise-Induced Hearing Loss: A Multimodal Study Combining
Huang Ranran1, Liu Wenwen2, Bi Ke3
1Department of Radiology, Yantaishan Hospital, Yantai, P. R. China.
Neuroimage
|August 12, 2026
Summary
Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) shows abnormal white matter (WM) functional activation and microstructural integrity. These changes correlate with clinical factors, suggesting WM dysconnectivity in NIHL.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Auditory Neuroscience
- White Matter Integrity
Background:
- Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is associated with auditory pathway alterations.
- Understanding white matter (WM) changes in NIHL is crucial for diagnosis and treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate abnormal coupling between WM functional activation (sALFF, dALFF) and microstructural integrity (FA) in NIHL patients.
- Identify potential imaging biomarkers for NIHL.
Main Methods:
- Used resting-state fMRI and diffusion tensor imaging in 53 NIHL patients and 50 healthy controls (HCs).
- Quantified WM functional-structural coupling using voxel-wise ratios (ALFF/FA) on the FA skeleton.
- Employed LASSO-SVM for classification based on multimodal imaging features.
Main Results:
- NIHL patients showed widespread FA reductions and altered sALFF/dALFF patterns in WM.
- Functional-structural decoupling (sALFF/FA, dALFF/FA ratios) varied regionally.
- Decoupling patterns correlated with noise exposure, anxiety, and hearing threshold.
- A SVM model achieved 84.5% accuracy in discriminating NIHL from HCs.
Conclusions:
- Demonstrated widespread WM abnormalities and functional-structural decoupling in NIHL.
- These decoupling patterns are linked to clinical variables, supporting the dysconnectivity hypothesis.
- Identified potential imaging biomarkers for NIHL.
