Zhou Gang-Ping, Li Wang-Wei, Chen Yu-Chen, Wei Heng-Le, Yu Yu-Sheng, Guo Xi, Yin Xindao, Tao Yue-Jin, Zhang Hong
Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Jiangning Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Department of E.N.T., The Affiliated Jiangning Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Front Aging Neurosci. 2022 Aug 1;14:833437. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.833437. eCollection 2022.
Currently, the underlying neurophysiological mechanism of acute tinnitus is still poorly understood. This study aimed to explore differences in brain functional connectivity (FC) within and between resting-state networks (RSNs) in acute tinnitus patients with hearing loss (ATHL). Furthermore, it also evaluated the correlations between FC alterations and clinical characteristics.
Two matched groups of 40 patients and 40 healthy controls (HCs) were included. Independent component analysis (ICA) was employed to obtain RSNs and FC differences were calculated within RSNs. In addition, the relationships between networks were conducted using functional network connectivity (FNC) analysis. Finally, an analysis of correlation was used to evaluate the relationship between FNC abnormalities and clinical data.
Results of this study found that seven major RSNs including the auditory network (AN), cerebellum network (CN), default mode network (DMN), executive control network (ECN), sensorimotor network (SMN), ventral attention network (VAN), and visual network (VN) were extracted using the group ICA in both groups. Furthermore, it was noted that the ATHL group showed aberrant FC within the CN, ECN, and VN as compared with HCs. Moreover, different patterns of network interactions were observed between groups, including the SMN-ECN, SMN-CN, ECN-AN, DMN-VAN, and DMN-CN connections. The correlations between functional disconnection and clinical characteristics in ATHL were also found in this study.
In conclusion, this study indicated widespread alterations of intra- and inter-network connectivity in ATHL, suggesting that multiple large-scale network dysfunctions and interactions are involved in the early stage. Furthermore, our findings may provide new perspectives to understand the neuropathophysiological mechanism of acute tinnitus.
目前，急性耳鸣的潜在神经生理机制仍未得到充分理解。本研究旨在探讨伴有听力损失的急性耳鸣患者（ATHL）静息态网络（RSN）内部及之间的脑功能连接（FC）差异。此外，还评估了FC改变与临床特征之间的相关性。
纳入两组各40例匹配的患者和40名健康对照（HC）。采用独立成分分析（ICA）获取RSN，并计算RSN内部的FC差异。此外，使用功能网络连接（FNC）分析来研究网络之间的关系。最后，采用相关性分析来评估FNC异常与临床数据之间的关系。
本研究结果发现，两组均使用组ICA提取了七个主要的RSN，包括听觉网络（AN）、小脑网络（CN）、默认模式网络（DMN）、执行控制网络（ECN）、感觉运动网络（SMN）、腹侧注意网络（VAN）和视觉网络（VN）。此外，注意到与HC相比，ATHL组在CN、ECN和VN内显示出异常的FC。而且，在两组之间观察到不同模式的网络相互作用，包括SMN - ECN、SMN - CN、ECN - AN、DMN - VAN和DMN - CN连接。本研究还发现了ATHL中功能断开与临床特征之间的相关性。
总之，本研究表明ATHL中网络内和网络间连接存在广泛改变，提示在早期阶段涉及多个大规模网络功能障碍和相互作用。此外，我们的发现可能为理解急性耳鸣的神经病理生理机制提供新的视角。
