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Neuroanatomical correlates of tinnitus revealed by cortical thickness analysis and diffusion tensor imaging

  • Functional Neuroradiology
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Abstract

Introduction

Tinnitus is a poorly understood auditory perception of sound in the absence of external stimuli. Convergent evidence proposes that tinnitus perception involves brain structural alterations as part of its pathophysiology. The aim of this study is to investigate the structural brain changes that might be associated with tinnitus-related stress and negative emotions.

Methods

Using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging, we investigated grey matter and white matter (WM) alterations by estimating cortical thickness measures, fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity in 14 tinnitus subjects and 14 age- and sex-matched non-tinnitus subjects.

Results

Significant cortical thickness reductions were found in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), temporal lobe and limbic system in tinnitus subjects compared to non-tinnitus subjects. Tinnitus sufferers were found to have disrupted WM integrity in tracts involving connectivity of the PFC, temporal lobe, thalamus and limbic system.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that such neural changes may represent neural origins for tinnitus or consequences of tinnitus and its associations.

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Conflict of interest

We declare that we have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Imaging, School of Health Sciences, The University of Liverpool, Thompson Yates Building, Liverpool, L69 3GB, UK

    Faten M. Aldhafeeri, Jamaan Alghamdi & Vanessa Sluming

  2. Ministry of Health, Radiology Department, King Khalid General Hospital, Hafral-batin, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Faten M. Aldhafeeri

  3. Aintree University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK

    Ian Mackenzie & Tony Kay

  4. Physics Department, Faculty of Sciences, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Jamaan Alghamdi

  5. Magnetic Resonance and Image Analysis Research Centre, Liverpool, UK

    Vanessa Sluming

Authors
  1. Faten M. Aldhafeeri
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  2. Ian Mackenzie
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  3. Tony Kay
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  4. Jamaan Alghamdi
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  5. Vanessa Sluming
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Correspondence to Faten M. Aldhafeeri.

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Aldhafeeri, F.M., Mackenzie, I., Kay, T. et al. Neuroanatomical correlates of tinnitus revealed by cortical thickness analysis and diffusion tensor imaging. Neuroradiology 54, 883–892 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-012-1044-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-012-1044-6

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