Localisation of tinnitus-related activity
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Localisation of tinnitus-related activity by residual inhibition using functional MRI
IRAS ID
146607
Contact name
Peyman Adjamian
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Medical Research Council
Research summary
Tinnitus is an auditory disorder where the patient perceives a sound when there is no external sound present. Although tinnitus is the perception of sound, the origin of the noise is not the ear but within the brain. Studies have shown that many different brain regions are involved in the generation of the tinnitus sound that include regions outside the auditory cortex. If specific brain regions could be located, this would aid in understanding the cause of the problem and aid in finding specific treatments for the disorder.
The tinnitus sound can be suppressed when someone listens to a broadband noise for approximately 60 seconds, which is called Residual inhibition (RI). This suppression lasts typically for ~30 seconds and provides a great opportunity to image brain activity when tinnitus is on and when it is suppressed by RI.
This research will use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a non-invasive brain imaging technique with high spatial resolution. We will use RI to measure changes in brain activity and localise the regions of the brain that are associated with tinnitus perception. fMRI measures the BOLD signal which is based upon the differences in magnetization of deoxygenated and oxygenated blood.
We will compare periods when a sound is being perceived and when it is not, this will give a spatial map of brain activity that will show specific regions of the brain that are associated with the perception of the tinnitus sound.
REC name
London - Fulham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/0329
Date of REC Opinion
19 Feb 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion