Structural Neuroanatomy of Tinnitus and Hyperacusis in Semantic Dementia

Overview

Journal J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry

Publisher BMJ Publishing Group

Specialties Neurology
Neurosurgery
Psychiatry

Date 2011 May 3

PMID 21531705

Citations 38

Authors

Colin J Mahoney

Jonathan D Rohrer

Johanna C Goll

Nick C Fox

Martin N Rossor

Jason D Warren

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Introduction: Tinnitus and hyperacusis are common symptoms of excessive auditory perception in the general population; however, their anatomical substrates and disease associations continue to be defined.

Patients: with semantic dementia (SemD) frequently report tinnitus and hyperacusis but the significance and basis for these symptoms have not been elucidated.

Methods: 43 patients with a diagnosis of SemD attending a specialist cognitive disorders clinic were retrospectively studied. 14 patients (32% of the cohort) reported at least moderately severe chronic auditory symptoms: seven had tinnitus and a further seven had hyperacusis, and all had brain MRI while symptomatic. MRI data from SemD patients with and without auditory symptoms were compared using voxel based morphometry in order to identify neuroanatomical associations of tinnitus and hyperacusis.

Results: Compared with SemD patients with no history of auditory symptoms, patients with tinnitus or hyperacusis had relative preservation of grey matter in the posterior superior temporal lobe and reduced grey matter in the orbitofrontal cortex and medial geniculate nucleus.

Conclusions: Tinnitus and hyperacusis may be a significant issue in SemD. Neuroanatomical evidence in SemD supports previous work implicating a distributed cortico-subcortical auditory and limbic network in the pathogenesis of these abnormal auditory percepts.

Citing Articles

Auditory agnosia for environmental sounds in Alzheimer's disease: Effects on daily life.

Coebergh J, McDowell S, van Woerkom T, Koopman J, Mulder J, Smink F IBRO Neurosci Rep. 2025; 18:142-147.

PMID: 39896713 PMC: 11783057. DOI: 10.1016/j.ibneur.2025.01.006.

Probe into the treatment of tinnitus by acupuncture combined with medicine under the mechanism of pathophysiology: A review.

Hu W, Xu D, Xing Q Medicine (Baltimore). 2024; 103(39):e39832.

PMID: 39331935 PMC: 11441956. DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000039832.

Comparative study on structural and functional brain differences in mild cognitive impairment patients with tinnitus.

Han S, Kim H, Yun Y, Lee M, Lee J, Park S Front Aging Neurosci. 2024; 16:1470919.

PMID: 39286459 PMC: 11402673. DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2024.1470919.

Primary progressive aphasia: six questions in search of an answer.

Belder C, Marshall C, Jiang J, Mazzeo S, Chokesuwattanaskul A, Rohrer J J Neurol. 2023; 271(2):1028-1046.

PMID: 37906327 PMC: 10827918. DOI: 10.1007/s00415-023-12030-4.

Targeting the Limbic System: Insights into Its Involvement in Tinnitus.

Singh A, Smith P, Zheng Y Int J Mol Sci. 2023; 24(12).

PMID: 37373034 PMC: 10298522. DOI: 10.3390/ijms24129889.

References

Barbas H . Flow of information for emotions through temporal and orbitofrontal pathways. J Anat. 2007; 211(2):237-49. PMC: 2375774. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7580.2007.00777.x. View

Edwards-Lee T, Miller B, Benson D, Cummings J, Russell G, Boone K . The temporal variant of frontotemporal dementia. Brain. 1997; 120 ( Pt 6):1027-40. DOI: 10.1093/brain/120.6.1027. View

Vanneste S, Plazier M, van der Loo E, Van de Heyning P, Congedo M, Ridder D . The neural correlates of tinnitus-related distress. Neuroimage. 2010; 52(2):470-80. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.04.029. View

Andersson G, Lindvall N, Hursti T, Carlbring P . Hypersensitivity to sound (hyperacusis): a prevalence study conducted via the Internet and post. Int J Audiol. 2002; 41(8):545-54. DOI: 10.3109/14992020209056075. View

Mirz F, Pedersen B, Ishizu K, Johannsen P, Ovesen T, Stodkilde-Jorgensen H . Positron emission tomography of cortical centers of tinnitus. Hear Res. 1999; 134(1-2):133-44. DOI: 10.1016/s0378-5955(99)00075-1. View

Lockwood A, Salvi R, Coad M, Towsley M, Wack D, MURPHY B . The functional neuroanatomy of tinnitus: evidence for limbic system links and neural plasticity. Neurology. 1998; 50(1):114-20. DOI: 10.1212/wnl.50.1.114. View

Landgrebe M, Langguth B, Rosengarth K, Braun S, Koch A, Kleinjung T . Structural brain changes in tinnitus: grey matter decrease in auditory and non-auditory brain areas. Neuroimage. 2009; 46(1):213-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.01.069. View

Hwang J, Chou P, Wu C, Chen J, Liu T . Brain activation in patients with idiopathic hyperacusis. Am J Otolaryngol. 2009; 30(6):432-4. DOI: 10.1016/j.amjoto.2008.08.005. View

Gates G, Anderson M, Feeney M, McCurry S, Larson E . Central auditory dysfunction in older persons with memory impairment or Alzheimer dementia. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2008; 134(7):771-7. PMC: 2871110. DOI: 10.1001/archotol.134.7.771. View

10.

Omar R, Hailstone J, Warren J, Crutch S, Warren J . The cognitive organization of music knowledge: a clinical analysis. Brain. 2010; 133(Pt 4):1200-13. PMC: 2850578. DOI: 10.1093/brain/awp345. View

11.

Shulman A, Goldstein B, Strashun A . Central nervous system neurodegeneration and tinnitus: a clinical experience. Part II: translational neurovascular theory of neurodegenerative CNS disease and tinnitus. Int Tinnitus J. 2008; 14(1):43-51. View

12.

Rauschecker J, Leaver A, Muhlau M . Tuning out the noise: limbic-auditory interactions in tinnitus. Neuron. 2010; 66(6):819-26. PMC: 2904345. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2010.04.032. View

13.

Husain F, Medina R, Davis C, Szymko-Bennett Y, Simonyan K, Pajor N . Neuroanatomical changes due to hearing loss and chronic tinnitus: a combined VBM and DTI study. Brain Res. 2010; 1369:74-88. PMC: 3018274. DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2010.10.095. View

14.

Reyes S, Salvi R, Burkard R, Coad M, Wack D, Galantowicz P . Brain imaging of the effects of lidocaine on tinnitus. Hear Res. 2002; 171(1-2):43-50. DOI: 10.1016/s0378-5955(02)00346-5. View

15.

Rohrer J, Warren J, Modat M, Ridgway G, Douiri A, Rossor M . Patterns of cortical thinning in the language variants of frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Neurology. 2009; 72(18):1562-9. PMC: 2827264. DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181a4124e. View

16.

Demeester K, van Wieringen A, Hendrickx J, Topsakal V, Fransen E, Van Laer L . Prevalence of tinnitus and audiometric shape. B-ENT. 2008; 3 Suppl 7:37-49. View

17.

Plewnia C, Reimold M, Najib A, Brehm B, Reischl G, Plontke S . Dose-dependent attenuation of auditory phantom perception (tinnitus) by PET-guided repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. Hum Brain Mapp. 2006; 28(3):238-46. PMC: 6871343. DOI: 10.1002/hbm.20270. View

18.

Ridgway G, Omar R, Ourselin S, Hill D, Warren J, Fox N . Issues with threshold masking in voxel-based morphometry of atrophied brains. Neuroimage. 2008; 44(1):99-111. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.08.045. View

19.

Schneider P, Andermann M, Wengenroth M, Goebel R, Flor H, Rupp A . Reduced volume of Heschl's gyrus in tinnitus. Neuroimage. 2009; 45(3):927-39. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.12.045. View

20.

Davis A . The prevalence of hearing impairment and reported hearing disability among adults in Great Britain. Int J Epidemiol. 1989; 18(4):911-7. DOI: 10.1093/ije/18.4.911. View