Sekiya Kenichi, Takahashi Mariko, Murakami Shingo, Kakigi Ryusuke, Okamoto Hidehiko
Department of Integrative Physiology, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Japan.
Department of Otolaryngology, Head, and Neck Surgery, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences and Medical School, Nagoya, Japan; and.
J Neurophysiol. 2017 Mar 1;117(3):1379-1384. doi: 10.1152/jn.00385.2016. Epub 2017 Jan 4.
Tinnitus is a phantom auditory perception without an external sound source and is one of the most common public health concerns that impair the quality of life of many individuals. However, its neural mechanisms remain unclear. We herein examined population-level frequency tuning in the auditory cortex of unilateral tinnitus patients with similar hearing levels in both ears using magnetoencephalography. We compared auditory-evoked neural activities elicited by a stimulation to the tinnitus and nontinnitus ears. Objective magnetoencephalographic data suggested that population-level frequency tuning corresponding to the tinnitus ear was significantly broader than that corresponding to the nontinnitus ear in the human auditory cortex. The results obtained support the hypothesis that pathological alterations in inhibitory neural networks play an important role in the perception of subjective tinnitus. Although subjective tinnitus is one of the most common public health concerns that impair the quality of life of many individuals, no standard treatment or objective diagnostic method currently exists. We herein revealed that population-level frequency tuning was significantly broader in the tinnitus ear than in the nontinnitus ear. The results of the present study provide an insight into the development of an objective diagnostic method for subjective tinnitus.
耳鸣是一种没有外部声源的幻听，是损害许多人生活质量的最常见公共卫生问题之一。然而，其神经机制仍不清楚。我们在此使用脑磁图检查了双耳听力水平相似的单侧耳鸣患者听觉皮层中的群体水平频率调谐。我们比较了刺激耳鸣耳和非耳鸣耳所引发的听觉诱发神经活动。客观的脑磁图数据表明，在人类听觉皮层中，与耳鸣耳相对应的群体水平频率调谐明显比与非耳鸣耳相对应的更宽。获得的结果支持了这样的假设，即抑制性神经网络的病理改变在主观耳鸣的感知中起重要作用。尽管主观耳鸣是损害许多人生活质量的最常见公共卫生问题之一，但目前尚无标准治疗方法或客观诊断方法。我们在此揭示，耳鸣耳的群体水平频率调谐明显比非耳鸣耳更宽。本研究结果为开发主观耳鸣的客观诊断方法提供了见解。
