Changes in auditory cortex subregions and their prediction for sound therapy outcomes in patients with tinnitus

IF 3.7 3区医学 Q2 NEUROSCIENCES

Brain Research Bulletin Pub Date : 2025-07-22 DOI:10.1016/j.brainresbull.2025.111477

Ling Wang , Yu Zhang , Rui Zhao , Yan Huang , Xinghao Wang , Yuyou Huang , Jiancheng Zhang , Han Lv , Pengfei Zhao , Zhenghan Yang , Qian Chen , Zhenchang Wang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective

To examine structural and functional changes in auditory cortex(AC) subregions of patients with tinnitus and identify potential predictive indicators for sound therapy.

Methods

63 patients with tinnitus (29 in effective group[EG] and 34 in ineffective group[IG]) and 38 healthy controls(HCs) were included. High-resolution 3D T1-weighted images, diffusion tensor imaging, and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging were obtained before sound therapy. We compared gray matter volume, fractional anisotropy(FA), amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations(ALFF), fractional ALFF(fALFF), regional homogeneity(ReHo) within AC subregions, and functional connectivity(FC) between each subregion and other brain voxels, across the three groups. Spearman’s correlation assessed the relationship between imaging and clinical data, while receiver operating characteristic(ROC) analyses identified sensitive imaging indicators for predicting sound therapy outcomes.

Results

The EG and IG exhibited increased FA and decreased ALFF, fALFF, ReHo in AC subregions, especially in the higher subregion TE3.0. The EG showed a significantly higher FC between bilateral TE3.0 and the left inferior temporal gyrus(ITG) than the IG. FC values between bilateral TE3.0 and left ITG were positively correlated with improvements in Tinnitus Handicap Inventory scores following treatment. When the FC values between bilateral TE3.0 and left ITG combined as an indicator, the area under the curve(AUC) reaches the highest of 0.811.

Conclusion

: Our findings demonstrate extensive AC changes in bilateral TE3.0, offering new insights into the mechanism of tinnitus. The sound therapy efficacy may be linked to individual differences in AC subregion reorganization, with combined FC values between bilateral TE3.0 and the left ITG serving as an effective predictor.

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耳鸣患者听觉皮层亚区变化及其对声音治疗结果的预测

目的观察耳鸣患者听觉皮层亚区结构和功能的变化，探讨声音治疗的潜在预测指标。方法63例耳鸣患者（有效组29例，无效组34例）和健康对照组38例。声音治疗前获得高分辨率3D t1加权图像、弥散张量成像和静息状态功能磁共振成像。我们比较了三组的灰质体积、分数各向异性（FA）、低频波动幅度（ALFF）、分数ALFF（fALFF）、AC子区域内的区域均匀性（ReHo）以及每个子区域与其他脑素之间的功能连通性（FC）。Spearman的相关性评估了影像学和临床数据之间的关系，而接受者工作特征（ROC）分析确定了预测声音治疗结果的敏感影像学指标。结果EG和IG在AC亚区FA升高，ALFF、fALFF、ReHo降低，且在较高TE3.0亚区表现得尤为明显。脑电显示双侧TE3.0与左侧颞下回（ITG）之间的FC明显高于脑电。双侧TE3.0和左侧ITG之间的FC值与治疗后耳鸣障碍量表评分的改善呈正相关。当双侧TE3.0与左侧ITG之间的FC值联合作为指标时，曲线下面积（AUC）达到最高，为0.811。结论：我们的研究结果显示双侧TE3.0广泛的AC变化，为耳鸣的机制提供了新的见解。声音治疗的效果可能与AC亚区重组的个体差异有关，双侧TE3.0和左侧ITG之间的联合FC值可作为有效的预测因子。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Brain Research Bulletin 医学-神经科学

CiteScore

6.90

自引率

2.60%

发文量

253

审稿时长

67 days

期刊介绍： The Brain Research Bulletin (BRB) aims to publish novel work that advances our knowledge of molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie neural network properties associated with behavior, cognition and other brain functions during neurodevelopment and in the adult. Although clinical research is out of the Journal''s scope, the BRB also aims to publish translation research that provides insight into biological mechanisms and processes associated with neurodegeneration mechanisms, neurological diseases and neuropsychiatric disorders. The Journal is especially interested in research using novel methodologies, such as optogenetics, multielectrode array recordings and life imaging in wild-type and genetically-modified animal models, with the goal to advance our understanding of how neurons, glia and networks function in vivo.