Tinnitus and hyperacusis involve hyperactivity and enhanced connectivity in auditory-limbic-arousal-cerebellar network
Yu-Chen Chen,
Xiaowei Li,
Lijie Liu,
Jian Wang,
Chun-Qiang Lu,
Ming Yang,
Yun Jiao,
Feng-Chao Zang,
Kelly Radziwon,
Guang-Di Chen,
Wei Sun,
Vijaya Prakash Krishnan Muthaiah,
Richard Salvi,
Gao-Jun Teng
Affiliations
Yu-Chen Chen
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
Xiaowei Li
Department of Physiology, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
Lijie Liu
Department of Physiology, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
Jian Wang
Department of Physiology, Southeast University, Nanjing, China; School of Human Communication Disorders, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
Chun-Qiang Lu
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
Ming Yang
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
Yun Jiao
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
Feng-Chao Zang
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
Kelly Radziwon
Center for Hearing and Deafness, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, United States
Guang-Di Chen
Center for Hearing and Deafness, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, United States
Wei Sun
Center for Hearing and Deafness, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, United States
Vijaya Prakash Krishnan Muthaiah
Center for Hearing and Deafness, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, United States
Richard Salvi
Center for Hearing and Deafness, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, United States
Gao-Jun Teng
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
Hearing loss often triggers an inescapable buzz (tinnitus) and causes everyday sounds to become intolerably loud (hyperacusis), but exactly where and how this occurs in the brain is unknown. To identify the neural substrate for these debilitating disorders, we induced both tinnitus and hyperacusis with an ototoxic drug (salicylate) and used behavioral, electrophysiological, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques to identify the tinnitus–hyperacusis network. Salicylate depressed the neural output of the cochlea, but vigorously amplified sound-evoked neural responses in the amygdala, medial geniculate, and auditory cortex. Resting-state fMRI revealed hyperactivity in an auditory network composed of inferior colliculus, medial geniculate, and auditory cortex with side branches to cerebellum, amygdala, and reticular formation. Functional connectivity revealed enhanced coupling within the auditory network and segments of the auditory network and cerebellum, reticular formation, amygdala, and hippocampus. A testable model accounting for distress, arousal, and gating of tinnitus and hyperacusis is proposed.
