Tinnitus alters resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) in human auditory and non-auditory brain regions as measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0179150
• Publication Date: 2017-06-12T13:38:36Z
• Authors: Juan San Juan; Xiao-Su Hu; Mohamad Issa; Silvia Bisconti; Ioulia Kovelman; Paul Kileny; Gregory Basura
• Keywords: Auditory perception; Auditory System; Functional near-infrared spectroscopy; Temporal cortex; Auditory pathways

Tinnitus, or phantom sound perception, leads to increased spontaneous neural firing rates and enhanced synchrony in central auditory circuits animal models. These putative physiologic correlates of tinnitus date have not been well translated the brain human sufferer. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) we recently showed that humans maintained hemodynamic activity adjacent, non-auditory cortices. Here used fNIRS technology investigate changes resting state connectivity between regions normal-hearing, bilateral subjective controls before after stimulation. Hemodynamic was monitored over region interest (primary cortex) non-region (adjacent cortices) measured during a 60-second baseline/period silence passive challenge consisting alternating pure tones (750 8000Hz), broadband noise silence. Functional all channel-pairs. Prior stimulation, temporal fronto-temporal decreased participants compared controls. Overall, differentially altered as following Enhanced seen both brain, while decrease In tinnitus, strength cortex fronto-temporal, fronto-parietal, temporal, occipito-temporal occipital Together these data suggest are modified by may contribute conscious perception potentially serve an objective measure pathology.